RAMAK^/SHA^A 


HIS   LIFE   AND   SAYINGS 


BY 


THE  RIGHT  HON.  F.  MAX  MULLER,  K.M. 

FOREIGN    MEMBER    OF  THE    FRENCH    INSTITUTE 
FELLOW   OF   ALL   SOULS   COLLEGE,    OXFORD 


NEW    YORK 

CHARLES   SCRIBNER'S   SONS 
1899 


STACK  ANNEX 


PREFACE 


THE  name  of  Ramak^z'sh«a  has  lately  been  so  often 
mentioned  in  Indian,  American,  and  English  news- 
papers that  a  fuller  account  of  his  life  and  doctrine 
seemed  to  me  likely  to  be  welcome,  not  only  to  the 
many  who  take  an  interest  in  the  intellectual  and 
moral  state  of  India,  but  to  the  few  also  to  whom  the 
growth  of  philosophy  and  religion,  whether  at  home  or 
abroad,  can  never  be  a  matter  of  indifference.  I  have 
therefore  tried  to  collect  as  much  information  as  I  could 
about  this  lately-deceased  Indian  Saint  (died  in  1886), 
partly  from  his  own  devoted  disciples,  partly  from 
Indian  newspapers,  journals,  and  books  in  which  the 
principal  events  of  his  life  were  chronicled,  and  his 
moral  and  religious  teaching  described  and  discussed, 
whether  in  a  friendly  or  unfriendly  spirit. 

Whatever  may  be  said  about  the  aberrations  of 
the  Indian  ascetics  to  whom  Ramakr/sh«a  belonged, 


2- 


VI  PREFACE. 

there  are  certainly  some  of  them  who  deserve  our 
interest,  nay  even  our  warmest  sympathy.  The  tor- 
tures which  some  of  them,  who  hardly  deserve  to  be 
called  Sawnyasins,  for  they  are  not  much  better  than 
jugglers  or  Ha//*ayogins,  inflict  on  themselves,  the 
ascetic  methods  by  which  they  try  to  subdue  and 
annihilate  their  passions,  and  bring  themselves  to 
a  state  of  extreme  nervous  exaltation  accompanied 
by  trances  or  fainting  fits  of  long  duration,  are  well 
known  to  all  who  have  lived  in  India  and  have 
become  acquainted  there  not  only  with  Rajahs  and 
Maharajahs,  but  with  all  the  various  elements  that 
constitute  the  complicated  system  of  Indian  society. 
Though  some  of  the  stories  told  of  these  martyrs 
of  the  flesh  and  of  the  spirit  may  be  exaggerated, 
enough  remains  of  real  facts  to  rouse  at  all  events 
our  curiosity.  When  some  of  the  true  Sawnyasins, 
however,  devote  their  thoughts  and  meditations  to 
philosophical  and  religious  problems,  their  utterances, 
which  sway  large  multitudes  that  gather  round  them 
in  their  own  country,  cannot  fail  to  engage  our 
attention  and  sympathy,  particularly  if,  as  in  the 
case  of  Rdmakn'sh«a,  their  doctrines  are  being  spread 
by  zealous  advocates  not  only  in  India,  but  in 
America  also,  nay  even  in  England. 

We  need  not  fear  that  the  Sawnyasins  of  India  will 
ever  find  followers  or  imitators  in  Europe,  nor  would 
it  be  at  all  desirable  that  they  should,  not  even  for 


PREFACE.  Vll 

the  sake  of  Psychic  Research,  or  for  experiments  in 
Physico-psychological  Laboratories.  But  apart  from 
that,  a  better  knowledge  of  the  teachings  of  one 
of  them  seems  certainly  desirable,  whether  for  the 
statesmen  who  have  to  deal  with  the  various  classes  of 
Indian  society,  or  for  the  missionaries  who  are  anxious 
to  understand  and  to  influence  the  inhabitants  of  that 
country,  or  lastly  for  the  students  of  philosophy  and 
religion  who  ought  to  know  how  the  most  ancient 
philosophy  of  the  world,  the  Vedanta,  is  taught  at  the 
present  day  by  the  Bhaktas,  that  is  '  the  friends  and 
devoted  lovers  of  God/  and  continues  to  exercise  its 
powerful  influence,  not  only  on  a  few  philosophers,  but 
on  the  large  masses  of  what  has  always  been  called 
a  country  of  philosophers.  A  country  permeated  by 
such  thoughts  as  were  uttered  by  Ramakrz'shwa  cannot 
possibly  be  looked  upon  as  a  country  of  ignorant 
idolaters  to  be  converted  by  the  same  methods  which 
are  applicable  to  the  races  of  Central  Africa. 

As  the  Vedanta  forms  the  background  of  the  sayings 
of  RamakrzshTza,  I  thought  it  useful  to  add  a  short 
sketch  of  some  of  the  most  characteristic  doctrines  of 
that  philosophy.  Without  it,  many  readers  would 
hardly  be  able  to  understand  the  ideals  of  Rama- 
kmh«a  and  his  disciples. 

I  am  quite  aware  that  some  of  his  sayings  may  sound 
strange  to  our  ears,  nay  even  offensive.  Thus  the 
conception  of  the  Deity  as  the  Divine  Mother  is  apt  to 


Vlll  PREFACE. 

startle  us,  but  we  can  understand  what  Ramakr/shwa 
really  meant  by  it,  when  we  read  his  saying  (No.  89) : 

'  Why  does  the  God-lover  find  such  pleasure  in  address- 
ing the  Deity  as  Mother  ?  Because  the  child  is  more  free 
with  its  mother,  and  consequently  she  is  dearer  to  the  child 
than  any  one  else.' 

Sometimes  the  language  which  these  Hindu  devotees 
use  of  the  Deity  must  appear  to  us  too  familiar,  nay 
even  irreverent.  They  themselves  seem  to  be  aware 
of  this  and  say  in  excuse  : 

4  A  true  devotee  who  has  drunk  deep  of  Divine  Love 
is  like  a  veritable  drunkard,  and,  as  such,  cannot  always 
observe  the  rules  of  propriety '  (104). 

Or  again  : 

'  What  is  the  strength  of  a  devotee  ?  He  is  a  child  of 
God,  and  tears  are  his  greatest  strength  '  (92). 

Unless  we  remember  that  harem  means  originally 
no  more  than  a  sacred  and  guarded  place,  the  follow- 
ing saying  will  certainly  jar  on  our  ears  : 

'  The  Knowledge  of  God  may  be  likened  to  a  man,  while 
the  Love  of  God  is  like  a  woman.  Knowledge  has  entry 
only  up  to  the  outer  rooms  of  God,  but  no  one  can  enter 
into  the  inner  mysteries  of  God  save  a  lover,  for  a  woman 
has  access  even  into  the  harem  of  the  Almighty '  (172). 

How  deep  Ramakr/sh«a  has  seen  into  the  mysteries 
of  knowledge  and  love  of  God,  we  see  from  the  next 
saying : 


PREFACE.  IX 

'  Knowledge  and  love  of  God  are  ultimately  one  and  the 
same.  There  is  no  difference  between  pure  knowledge  and 
pure  love.' 

The  following  utterances  also  show  the  exalted 
nature  of  his  faith  : 

'Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  that  he  who  yearns  for 
God,  finds  Him  '  (159). 

1  He  who  has  faith  has  all,  and  he  who1  wants  faith  wants 
all '(201). 

'So  long  as  one  does  not  become  simple  like  a  child, 
one  does  not  get  Divine  illumination.  Forget  all  the 
worldly  knowledge  that  thou  hast  acquired,  and  become  as 
ignorant  about  it  as  a  child,  and  then  thou  wilt  get  the 
knowledge  of  the  True '  (241). 

'  Where  does  the  strength  of  an  aspirant  lie  ?  It  is  in 
his  tears.  As  a  mother  gives  her  consent  to  fulfil  the  desire 
of  her  importunately  weeping  child,  so  God  vouchsafes  to 
His  weeping  son  whatever  he  is  crying  for  '  (306). 

'  As  a  lamp  does  not  burn  without  oil,  so  a  man  cannot 
live  without  God '  (288). 

'  God  is  in  all  men,  but  all  men  are  not  in  God :  that  is 
the  reason  why  they  suffer'  (215). 

From  such  sayings  we  learn  that  though  the  real 
presence  of  the  Divine  in  nature  and  in  the  human 
soul  was  nowhere  felt  so  strongly  and  so  universally 
as  in  India,  and  though  the  fervent  love  of  God,  nay 
the  sense  of  complete  absorption  in  the  Godhead, 
has  nowhere  found  a  stronger  and  more  eloquent  ex- 
pression than  in  the  utterances  of  Ramalwzshwa,  yet 


X  PREFACE. 

he  perfectly  knew  the  barriers  that  separate  divine 
and  human  nature. 

If  we  remember  that  these  utterances  of  Rama- 
kr/sh»a  reveal  to  us  not  only  his  own  thoughts,  but 
the  faith  and  hope  of  millions  of  human  beings,  we 
may  indeed  feel  hopeful  about  the  future  of  that 
country.  The  consciousness  of  the  Divine  in  man  is 
there,  and  is  shared  by  all,  even  by  those  who  seem  to 
worship  idols.  This  constant  sense  of  the  presence  of 
God  is  indeed  the  common  ground  on  which  we  may 
hope  that  in  time  not  too  distant  the  great  temple  of 
the  future  will  be  erected,  in  which  Hindus  and  non- 
Hindus  may  join  hands  and  hearts  in  worshipping  the 
same  Supreme  Spirit — who  is  not  far  from  every  one 
of  us,  for  in  Him  we  live  and  move  and  have  our 
being. 

F.  M.  M. 

IGHTHAM  Mori, 
Oct.  18,  1898. 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

INTRODUCTION 1-97 

The  Mahatmans I 

The  Four  Stages  of  Life       .        .        .        ...  3 

Sawnyasins  or  Saints 6 

Ascetic  Exercises  or  Yoga 8 

Ramakr/bhwa         ........  10 

Dayananda  Sarasvati 12 

Pawaii  Baba 13 

Debendranath  Tagore 16 

Rai  Shaligram  Saheb  Bahadur 20 

Ramakrz'shwa 23 

The  Dialogic  Process    ........  25 

Ramakrz'shwa's  Life       .......  30 

Remarks  on  Ramakrishwa's  Life  ......  59 

Mozoomdar's  Judgement       .         .        .         .         .        .  61 

Ramakrzshwa's  Language 62 

Ramakri'shtta's  Wife 64 

Ramakyz'shwa's  Influence  on  Keshub  Chunder  Sen       .  66 

Vedanta-philosophy 69 

Ekam  advitiyam.     One  without  a  Second    ...  74 

TvuBi  fftavrov         ........  80 

Final  Conclusion,  Tat  tvamasi 91 

Remarks  on  the  Sayings 95 

THE  SAYINGS  OF  RAMAK/?/SHWA 98-187 

INDEX  TO  THE  SAYINGS 189-200 


THE   LIFE   AND   SAYINGS 

OF 

RAMAKtf/SHTVA 

The  Mahatmans. 

IT  is  not  many  years  since  I  felt  called  upon  to  say 
a  few  words  on  certain  religious  movements  now  going  on 
in  India,  which  seemed  to  me  to  have  been  very  much 
misrepresented  and  misunderstood  at  home.  To  people 
who  are  unacquainted  with  the  religious  state  of  India, 
whether  modern  or  ancient,  and  ignorant  of  the  systems 
of  philosophy  prevalent  in  what  has  often,  and  not  unjustly, 
been  called  a  country  of  philosophers,  it  is  very  difficult  to 
understand  these  movements,  more  particularly  to  distin- 
guish between  their  leaders,  who  may  be  open  to  criticism, 
and  the  ideas  themselves  by  which  they  feel  inspired,  and 
which  they  preach,  often  with  great  eloquence,  to  the 
multitudes  that  believe  in  them  and  follow  them.  My 
article,  entitled  'A  Real  Mahatman,'  appeared  in  the 
August  number,  1896,  of  the  Nineteenth  Century,  and 
gave  rise  to  a  good  deal  of  controversy  both  in  India 
and  in  England.  My  object  was  twofold:  I  wished  to 

B 


2      THE   LIFE   AND    SAYINGS    OF    RAMAKK/SHtfA. 

protest  against  the  wild  and  overcharged  accounts  of  Saints 
and  Sages  living  and  teaching  at  present  in  India  which 
had  been  published  and  scattered  broadcast  in  Indian, 
American,  and  English  papers,  and  I  wished  to  show  at 
the  same  time  that  behind  such  strange  names  as  Indian 
Theosophy,  and  Esoteric  Buddhism  and  all  the  rest,  there 
was  something  real,  something  worth  knowing,  worth  know- 
ing even  for  us,  the  students  of  Plato  and  Aristotle,  Kant 
and  Hegel,  in  Europe.  What  happens  so  often  to  people 
whose  powers  of  admiration  are  in  excess  of  their  know- 
ledge and  discretion,  has  happened  to  the  admirers  of 
certain  Hindu  sages.  They  thought  they  had  been  the 
first  to  discover  and  unearth  these  Indian  Mahatmans, 
whom  they  credited  not  only  with  a  profound  knowledge 
of  ancient  or  even  primeval  wisdom,  but  with  superhuman 
powers  exhibited  generally  in  the  performance  of  very  silly 
miracles.  Not  knowing  what  had  long  been  known  to 
every  student  of  Sanskrit  philology,  they  were  carried  away 
by  the  idea  that  they  had  found  in  India  quite  a  new  race 
of  human  beings,  who  had  gone  through  a  number  of  the 
most  fearful  ascetic  exercises,  had  retired  from  the  world, 
and  had  gained  great  popularity  among  low  and  high  by 
their  preachings  and  teachings,  by  their  abstemious  life, 
by  their  stirring  eloquence,  and  by  the  power  ascribed  to 
them  of  working  miracles.  Mahatman,  however,  is  but 
one  of  the  many  names  by  which  these  people  have  long 
been  known.  Mahatman  means  literally  great-souled, 
then  high-minded,  noble,  and  all  the  rest.  It  is  often 
used  simply  as  a  complimentary  term,  much  as  we  use 


THE  FOUR   STAGES   OF  LIFE.  3 

reverend  or  honourable,  but  it  has  also  been  accepted  as 
a  technical  term,  applied  to  a  class  of  men  who  in  the 
ancient  language  of  India  are  well  known  to  us  by  their 
name  of  Sa^myasin.  Sawmyasin  means  literally  one  who 
has  laid  down  or  surrendered  everything,  that  is,  one 
who  has  abandoned  all  worldly  affections  and  desires. 
'  He  is  to  be  known  as  a  Sawnyasin,'  we  read  in  the 
Bhagavad-gita  V,  3,  'who  does  not  hate  and  does  not 
love  anything.' 

The  Four  Stages  of  Life. 

The  life  of  a  Brahman  was,  according  to  the  Laws  of 
Manu,  divided  into  four  periods  or  A^ramas,  that  of 
a  pupil  or  BrahmaHrin,  that  of  a  householder  or 
Grtbastha,  of  an  ascetic  or  Vanaprastha,  and  of  a 
hermit  or  Yati1.  The  first  and  second  stages  are  clear 
enough ;  they  represent  the  scholastic  and  the  married 
stages  of  a  man's  life,  the  former  regulated  by  the  strictest 
rules  as  to  obedience,  chastity,  and  study,  the  second 
devoted  to  all  the  duties  of  a  married  man,  including  the 
duty  of  performing  sacrifices,  both  public  and  private. 
The  names  of  ascetic  and  hermit  for  the  third  and  fourth 
stages  are  of  course  approximate  renderings  only;  not 
having  the  thing,  we  have  not  got  the  name.  But  the 
chief  difference  between  the  two  seems  to  be  that  in  the 
third  stage  the  Brahman  still  keeps  to  his  dwelling  in 
the  forest  outside  his  village,  and  may  even  be  accompanied 
there  by  his  wife,  see  his  children,  and  keep  up  his  sacred 
1  Manu  VI,  87. 
B  2 


4      THE  LIFE   AND   SAYINGS   OF   RAMAK/J/SHATA. 

fires,  performing  all  the  time  certain  exercises,  as  enjoined 
in  their  sacred  books,  while  in  the  last  stage  a  man  is 
released  from  all  restrictions,  and  has  to  live  alone  and 
without  any  fixed  abode1.  Some  translators  have  used 
hermit  for  the  third,  and  ascetic  for  the  fourth  stage.  In 
Sanskrit  also  there  exists  a  variety  of  names  for  these  two 
stages,  but  the  distinctive  character  of  each  is  clear,  the 
third  stage  representing  a  mere  retreat  from  the  world, 
the  fourth  a  complete  surrender  of  all  worldly  interests, 
a  cessation  of  all  duties,  a  sundering  of  all  the  fetters  of 
passion  and  desire,  and  a  life  without  a  fixed  abode.  The 
modern  Mahatmans  should  therefore  be  considered  as 
belonging  partly  to  the  third,  partly  to  the  fourth  or  last 
stage.  They  are  what  we  should  call  friars  or  itinerant 
mendicants,  for  it  is  their  acknowledged  privilege  to  beg 
and  to  live  on  charity. 

Another  name  of  these  Sawnyasins  was  Avadhuta, 
literally  one  who  has  shaken  off  all  attachments,  while  in 
the  language  of  the  common  people  they  are  often  called 
simply  Sadhus,  or  good  men. 

It  has  sometimes  been  denied  that  there  are  any 
Sawmyasins  left  in  India,  and  in  one  sense  this  is  true. 
The  whole  scheme  of  life,  with  its  four  stages,  as  traced 
in  the  Laws  of  Manu,  seems  to  have  been  at  all  times 
more  or  less  of  an  ideal  scheme,  a  plan  of  life  such  as, 
according  to  the  aspirations  of  the  Brahmans,  it  ought  to 
be,  but  as,  taking  human  nature  as  it  is,  it  could  hardly 
ever  have  been  all  over  India.  Anyhow,  at  present,  though 

1  Apastamba  II,  9,  22,  21,  &c. 


THE   FOUR    STAGES   OF   LIFE.  5 

there  are  men  in  India  who  call  themselves  Sawnyasins, 
and  are  called  Sadhus  by  the  people,  they  are  no  longer 
what  Manu  meant  them  to  be.  They  no  longer  pass 
through  the  severe  discipline  of  their  studentship,  they 
need  no  longer  have  fulfilled  all  the  public  and  private 
duties  of  a  married  householder,  nor"  have  remained  for 
a  number  of  years  in  the  seclusion  of  their  forest  dwelling. 
They  seem  free  at  any  time  of  their  life  to  throw  off  all 
restraints,  if  need  be,  their  very  clothing,  and  begin  to 
preach  and  teach  whenever  and  wherever  they  can  find 
people  willing  to  listen  to  them. 

That  the  rules  laid  down  in  Manu's  Law-book  had  often 
been  broken  in  early  times,  we  learn  from  the  existence  of 
a  whole  class  of  people  called  Vratyas.  As  far  back  as 
the  Brahmawa  period  we  read  of  these  Vratyas,  outcasts 
who  had  not  practised  brahma^arya,  proper  studentship1, 
but  who,  if  they  would  only  perform  certain  sacrifices, 
might  be  readmitted  to  all  the  privileges  of  the  three 
upper  castes.  That  these  Vratyas  were  originally  non- 
Aryan  people  is  a  mere  assertion  that  has  often  been 
repeated,  but  never  been  proved.  The  name  was  technically 
applied,  during  the  Brahma^a  period,  to  Aryan  people  who 
had  belonged  to  a  certain  caste,  but  who  had  forfeited 
their  caste-privileges  by  their  own  neglect  of  the  duties 
pertaining  to  the  first  stage,  brahma^arya.  There  were 
actually  three  classes  of  them,  according  as  the  forfeiture 
affected  them  personally  or  dated  from  their  parents  or 
grandparents.  All  the  three  classes  could  be  readmitted 
1  Journ.  As.  Soc.  Bombay,  XIX,  p.  358  (they  ose  silver  coins). 


6      THE  LIFE  AND   SAYINGS   OF   RAMAKK/SHJVA. 

after  performing  certain  sacrifices.  In  the  modern  lan- 
guage vratya  has  come  to  mean  no  more  than  naughty 
or  unmanageable. 

It  is  curious  to  observe  how  the  Buddhist  revolt  was 
mainly  based  on  the  argument  that  if  emancipation  or 
spiritual  freedom,  as  enjoyed  in  the  third,  and  more  par- 
ticularly in  the  fourth  stage,  was  the  highest  goal  of  our 
life  on  earth,  it  was  a  mistake  to  wait  for  it  till  the  very 
end  of  life.  The  Buddhists  were  in  one  sense  Vratyas  who 
declined  to  pass  through  the  long  and  tedious  discipline  of 
a  pupil,  who  considered  the  performance  of  the  duties  of 
a  householder,  including  marriage  and  endless  sacrifices, 
not  only  as  unprofitable,  but  as  mischievous.  Buddha 
himself  had  declared  against  the  penances  prescribed  for 
the  Brahmanic  ascetic  as  a  hindrance  rather  than  as  a  help 
to  those  who  wished  for  perfect  freedom,  freedom  from  all 
passions  and  desires,  and  from  the  many  prejudices  of 
Brahmanic  society.  It  seems  almost  as  if  the  early 
Buddhists,  by  adopting  the  name  of  Bhikshu,  mendicant, 
for  the  members  of  their  order  (Sawgha),  had  wished  to 
show  that  they  were  all  Sawnyasins,  carrying  out  the  old 
Brahmanic  principles  to  their  natural  conclusion,  though 
they  had  renounced  at  the  same  time  the  Vedas,  the  Laws 
of  tradition,  and  all  Brahmanic  sacrifices  as  mere  vanity 
and  vexation  of  spirit 

Sawny&sins  or  Saints. 

Similar  ideas  existed  already  among  the  Brahmans,  and 
we  meet  among  them,  even  before  the  rise  of  Buddhism, 


SAMNYASINS    OR    SAINTS.  7 

with  men  who  had  shaken  off  all  social  fetters  who  had 
left  their  home  and  family,  lived  by  themselves  in  forests  or 
in  caves,  abstained  from  all  material  enjoyment,  restricted 
their  food  and  drink  to  a  startling  minimum,  and  often 
underwent  tortures  which  make  us  creep  when  we  read 
of  them  or  see  them  as  represented  in  pictures  and,  in 
modern  times,  in  faithful  photographs.  Such  men  were 
naturally  surrounded  by  a  halo  of  holiness,  and  they 
received  the  little  they  wanted  from  those  who  visited 
them  and  who  profited  by  their  teaching.  Some  of  these 
saints,  but  not  many,  were  scholars,  and  became  teachers 
of  ancient  lore.  Some,  however,  and  we  need  not  be 
surprised  at  it,  turned  out  to  be  impostors  and  hypocrites, 
and  brought  disgrace  on  the  whole  profession.  We  must 
not  forget  that  formerly  the  status  of  a  Sawnyasin  pre- 
supposed a  very  serious  discipline  during  the  many  years 
of  the  student  and  the  domestic  life.  Such  discipline 
might  generally  be  accepted  as  a  warrant  for  a  well- 
controlled  mind  and  as  security  against  the  propensity  to 
self-indulgence,  not  quite  uncommon  even  in  the  lives  of 
so-called  Saints.  When  this  security  is  removed,  and 
when  anybody  at  any  time  of  life  may  proclaim  himself 
a  Sawnyasin,  the  temptations  even  of  a  Saint  are  very 
much  increased.  But  that  there  were  real  Sawnyasins,  and 
that  there  are  even  now  men  who  have  completely  shaken 
off  the  fetters  of  passion,  who  have  disciplined  their  body 
and  subdued  the  imaginations  of  their  mind  to  a  perfectly 
marvellous  extent,  cannot  be  doubted.  They  are  often 
called  Yogins,  as  having  exercised  Yoga. 


8      THE   LIFE   AND   SAYINGS    OF    RAMAKK/SHtfA. 

Ascetic  Exercises  or  Yoga. 

Within  certain  limits  Yoga  seems  to  be  an  excellent  dis- 
cipline, and,  in  one  sense,  we  ought  all  to  be  Yogins.  Yoga, 
as  a  technical  term,  means  application,  concentration,  effort ; 
the  idea  that  it  meant  originally  union  with  the  deity  has  long 
been  given  up.  This  Yoga,  however,  was  soon  elaborated  into 
an  artificial  system,  and  though  supplying  the  means  only 
that  are  supposed  to  be  helpful  for  philosophy,  it  has  been 
elaborated  into  a  complete  system  of  philosophy,  the  Yoga 
philosophy  ascribed  to  Pata#£ali,  a  variety  of  Kapila's 
Sawkhya-philosophy.  As  described  by  Svamin  Rama- 
kr;sh«ananda  in  the  Brahmavadin,  p.  511  seq.,  it  consists, 
as  practised  at  present,  of  four  kinds — Mantra,  Laya,  Ra^a, 
and  HaMa-yoga.  Mantra-yoga  consists  in  repeating 
a  certain  word  again  and  again,  particularly  a  word  expres- 
sive of  deity,  and  concentrating  all  one's  thoughts  on  it. 
Laya-yoga  is  the  concentration  of  all  our  thoughts  on 
a  thing  or  the  idea  of  a  thing,  so  that  we  become  almost 
one  with  it.  Here  again  the  ideal  image  of  a  god,  or 
names  expressive  of  the  Godhead,  are  the  best,  as  pro- 
ducing absorption  in  God.  Ra^a-yoga  consists  in  con- 
trolling the  breath  so  as  to  control  the  mind.  It  was 
observed  that  when  fixing  our  attention  suddenly  on  any- 
thing new  we  hold  our  breath,  and  it  was  supposed  there- 
fore that  concentration  of  the  mind  would  be  sure  to  follow 
the  holding  back  of  the  breath,  or  the  Prawayama.  HaMa- 
yog.a  is  concerned  with  the  general  health  of  the  body,  and 
is  supposed  to  produce  concentration  by  certain  portions  of 


ASCETIC   EXERCISES    OR   YOGA.  9 

the  body,  by  fixing  the  eyes  on  one  point,  particularly  the 
tip  of  the  nose,  and  similar  contrivances.  All  this  is  fully 
described  in  the  Yoga-Sutras,  a  work  that  gives  one  the 
impression  of  being  perfectly  honest.  No  doubt  it  is 
difficult  to  believe  all  the  things  which  the  ancient  Yogins 
are  credited  with,  and  the  achievements  of  modern  Yogins 
also  are  often  very  startling.  I  confess  I  find  it  equally 
difficult  to  believe  them  or  not  to  believe  them.  We  are 
told  by  eye-witnesses  and  trustworthy  witnesses  that  these 
Yogins  go  without  food  for  weeks  and  months,  that  they 
can  sit  unmoved  for  any  length  of  time,  that  they  feel  no 
pain,  that  they  can  mesmerise  with  their  eyes  and  read 
people's  thoughts.  All  this  I  can  believe,  but  if  the  same 
authorities  tell  us  that  Yogins  can  see  the  forms  of  gods 
and  goddesses  moving  in  the  sky,  or  that  the  ideal  God 
appears  before  them,  that  they  hear  voices  from  the  sky, 
perceive  a  divine  fragrance,  and  lastly  that  they  have  been 
seen  to  sit  in  the  air  without  any  support,  I  must  claim 
the  privilege  of  St.  Thomas  a  little  longer,  though  I  am 
bound  to  say  that  the  evidence  that  has  come  to  me  in 
support  of  the  last  achievement  is  most  startling1. 

That  what  is  called  a  state  of  Samadhi,  or  a  trance,  can 
be  produced  by  the  very  means  which  are  employed  by  the 
Yogins  in  India,  is,  I  believe,  admitted  by  medical  and 
psychiatric  authorities;  and  though  impostors  certainly 
exist  among  the  Indian  Yogins,  we  should  be  careful  not 
to  treat  all  these  Indian  Saints  as  mere  impostors.  The 
temptation,  no  doubt,  is  great  for  people,  who  are  believed 
1  See  also  H.  Walter,  Ha/Aayogapradipika,  1893. 


IO      THE   LIFE   AND   SAYINGS   OF    RAMAKRISIINA. 

to  be  inspired,  to  pretend  to  be  what  they  are  believed  to  be, 
nay,  in  the  end,  not  only  to  pretend,  but  really  to  believe  what 
others  believe  of  them.  And  if  they  have  been  brought  up 
in  a  philosophical  atmosphere,  or  are  filled  by  deep  religious 
feelings,  they  would  very  naturally  become  what  the  Mahat- 
mans  are  described  to  be — men  who  can  pour  out  their  souls 
in  perfervid  eloquence  and  high-flown  poetry,  or  who  are  able 
to  enter  even  on  subtle  discussions  of  the  great  problems 
of  philosophy  and  answer  any  questions  addressed  to  them. 

Ramakr/sh/;a. 

Such  a  man  was  Ramakrrshna,  who  has  lately  obtained 
considerable  celebrity  both  in  India  and  America,  where  his 
disciples  have  been  actively  engaged  in  preaching  his  gospel 
and  winning  converts  to  his  doctrines,  even  among  Christian 
audiences.  This  may  seem  very  strange,  nay,  almost  in- 
credible to  us.  But  we  have  only  to  remember  what  the 
religion  of  large  numbers  of  people  consists  in  who  call 
themselves  Christians,  without  even  having  had  an  idea  of 
what  Christ  really  taught  or  what  He  was  meant  for  in  the 
history  of  mankind.  There  are  many  who  know  absolutely 
nothing  either  of  the  history  or  of  the  doctrines  of  Christi- 
anity, or  if  they  do,  they  have  simply  learnt  their  catechism 
by  heart.  They  repeat  what  they  have  learnt,  but  without  an 
atom  of  real  faith  or  love.  Yet  every  human  heart  has  its 
religious  yearnings,  it  has  a  hunger  for  religion  which  sooner 
or  later  wants  to  be  satisfied.  Now  the  religion  taught  by 
the  disciples  of  Ramakr/sh«a  comes  to  these  hungry  souls 
without  any  outward  authority.  So  far  from  being  forced  on 


RAMAKK/SHtf  A.  1 1 

them,  it  is  to  them  at  first  a  heathen  and  despised  religion. 
If  they  listen  to  it  at  all,  it  is  of  their  own  free  will ;  and  if 
they  believe  in  any  part  of  it,  it  is  of  their  own  free  choice. 
A  chosen  religion  is  always  stronger  than  an  inherited  religion, 
and  hence  we  find  that  converts  from  one  religion  to  another 
are  generally  so  zealous  for  their  new  faith,  while  those  who 
never  knew  what  real  religion  meant  are  enthusiastic  in 
proclaiming  any  truths  which  they  seem  to  have  discovered 
for  themselves  and  to  which  their  heart  has  yielded  a  free 
assent.  Hence,  though  there  may  be  some  exaggeration  in 
the  number  of  those  who  are  stated  to  have  become  con- 
verted to  the  religion  of  Ramakn'shrca,  and  though  some 
who  now  call  themselves  converts  to  the  Vedanta  may  in 
reality  have  made  but  the  first  step  towards  real  Christianity, 
there  can  be  no  doubt  that  a  religion  which  can  achieve  such 
successes  in  our  time,  while  it  calls  itself  with  perfect  truth 
the  oldest  religion  and  philosophy  of  the  world,  viz.  the 
Vedanta,  the  end  or  highest  object  of  the  Veda,  deserves  our 
careful  attention  1. 

Ramakr/sh«a  himself  never  claimed  to  be  the  founder 
of  a  new  religion.  He  simply  preached  the  old  religion  of 
India,  which  was  founded  on  the  Veda,  more  particularly  on 
the  Upanishads,  and  was  systematised  later  on  in  the  Sutras 
of  Badarayawa,  and  finally  developed  in  the  commentaries 

1  This  is  the  explanation  given  of  the  name  of  Vedanta.  But  it  is 
probably  an  after-thought.  Like  other  compounds  in  anta,  such  as 
Siddhanta,  Sutranta,  &c.,  it  was  probably  meant  at  first  for  no 
more  than  the  subject-matter  of  the  Veda ;  then,  as  it  stands  at  the  end 
of  Brahmawas  and  Aranyakas,  it  was  explained  as  end  of  the  Veda,  and 
kstly  as  the  end,  i.e.  the  goal,  the  highest  object  of  the  Veda. 


12       THE   LIFE   AND   SAYINGS   OF    RAMAKRTSHtfA. 

of  Samkzra.  and  others.  Even  in  preaching  that  religion, 
and  in  living  the  life  of  a  recluse,  as  he  did,  Ramakr/shwa 
by  no  means  claimed  to  stand  alone.  There  were  several 
leading  Vedanta  preachers  in  India  during  the  last  fifty 
years,  sometimes  called  Paramahawsas.  Keshub  Chunder 
Sen,  well  known  in  England  and  America,  who  was  a  great 
reformer  with  a  strong  leaning  towards  Christianity,  was  not 
counted  as  one  of  them,  because  he  never  passed  through 
the  proper  discipline  and  did  not  live  the  life  of  a  Sawnyasin. 
But  he  mentions  four  among  his  contemporaries  who 
deserved  that  title :  first,  Dayananda  Sarasvati,  for  a  time 
unfortunately  connected  with  Madame  Blavatsky;  secondly, 
Pawari  Baba  of  Ghazipur;  thirdly,  the  Sikh  Nagaji  of  Doom- 
raon;  and  lastly,  our  Ramaknshrca,  commonly  called  the 
Paramahawsa  of  Dakshi^esvar.  '  These,'  he  adds,  '  are  the 
four  ascetic  saints  whom  our  friends  have  from  time  to  time 
duly  honoured,  and  in  whose  company  they  have  sought 
the  sanctifying  influences  of  character  and  example.  May 
we  respect,'  he  continues,  '  and  serve  with  profound  respect 
and  humility,  every  ascetic  saint  whom  Providence  may 
bring  to  us.  The  impure  become  pure  in  the  company  of 
Sadhus.' 

Dayftnanda  Sarasvati. 

Of  the  life  of  the  first,  of  Dayananda  Sarasvati,  we  have 
very  full  accounts.  He  initiated  a  great  reform  of  Brah- 
manism,  and  seems  to  have  been  a  liberal-minded  man,  so  far 
as  social  reforms  were  concerned.  He  also  was  willing  to 
surrender  his  belief  in  the  divine  revelation  of  the  Brahma«as, 


DAYANANDA   SARASVAT?.  13 

though  he  retained  it  in  full  strength  with  regard  to  the 
Vedic  hymns.  He  published  large  commentaries  on  the 
Vedas,  which  show  great  familiarity  with  Sanskrit  and  very 
wide  reading,  though  at  the  same  time  an  utter  want  of  critical 
judgement.  He  sanctioned  the  remarriage  of  widows,  sup- 
ported the  movement  in  favour  of  raising  the  marriageable 
age  of  boys  and  girls,  and  altogether  showed  himself  free 
from  many  prejudices  as  to  caste,  food,  and  all  the  rest.  He 
condemned  idolatry  and  even  polytheism.  His  name  became 
better  known  in  Europe  also,  from  the  time  that  he  fell 
into  the  net  spread  for  him  by  Madame  Blavatsky.  But  this 
lasted  for  a  short  time  only,  and  when  he  perceived  what 
her  real  objects  were,  the  Sawnyasin  would  have  nothing 
more  to  say  to  her.  She  was  not  quite  the  Maitreyi  he  had 
expected.  He  did  not  know  English,  she  did  not  know 
Bengali  or  Sanskrit ;  hence  they  did  not  understand  each 
other  at  first,  while  later  on,  as  some  people  said,  they 
understood  each  other  but  too  well.  However  that  may  be, 
he  certainly  seems  to  have  been  a  powerful  disputant,  his 
influence  became  greater  and  greater,  till  at  last  his  op- 
ponents, the  orthodox  and  unchanging  Brahmans,  were 
suspected  of  having  poisoned  their  dangerous  rival.  He 
died  suddenly,  but  his  followers,  under  the  name  of  Arya- 
Samaj,  form  still  a  very  important  and  growing  sect  in 
India,  that  keeps  aloof  from  all  European  influences. 

Pawari  Bftba. 

The  second  Saint  was  Pawari  Baba  of  Ghazipur.     Little 
is  known  of  him,  but  his  recent  death  has  created  a  painful 


14      THE   LIFE   AND   SAYINGS   OF   RAMAKU7SHJVA. 

sensation  all  over  India.  He  had  lived  for  about  thirty 
years  at  Ghazipur,  and  was  venerated  as  a  Saint  by  the 
whole  native  community.  The  last  nine  years,  however,  he 
had  almost  entirely  withdrawn  from  the  world ',  living  by 
himself  in  a  compound  surrounded  by  high  walls  and 
protected  by  a  formidable  gate.  Inside  there  was  a  small 
flower-garden,  a  well,  a  small  temple,  and  his  own  dwelling- 
house,  which  consisted  of  one  room.  He  never  allowed  the 
gate  to  be  opened,  and  no  one  ever  saw  him  except  his 
younger  brother.  Once  every  week  or  ten  days,  however, 
he  would  come  up  to  the  gate  and  converse  for  a  few 
moments  from  within  with  any  one  who  happened  to  be 
there.  His  younger  brother  always  remained  within  calling- 
distance.  But  though  his  saintly  brother  had  told  him  that 
he  could  not  any  longer  bear  the  misery  which  the  Kali-yuga, 
i.  e.  the  present  age,  had  brought  upon  India,  he  little  sus- 
pected what  his  brother  meant.  The  venerable  man,  after 
taking  his  usual  bath  and  performing  his  devotions,  seems  to 
have  covered  his  whole  body  with  clarified  butter,  to  have 
sprinkled  himself  all  over  with  incense,  then  to  have  set 
fire  to  the  four  corners  of  his  lonely  house,  and  when  the 
flames  had  taken  hold  of  it  on  all  sides,  to  have  deliberately 
thrown  himself  into  the  fire,  thus  performing  his  last 
sacrifice.  Before  anybody  could  rescue  him,  the  old  man 
was  burnt  to  ashes,  and  what  remained  of  him  was  con- 
signed with  due  ceremony  to  the  sacred  waters  of  the 
Ganges.  All  this  happened  only  a  few  months  ago.  It  is 
always  difficult  to  get  an  exact  account  of  anything  that 
1  Interpreter,  June,  1898.  Indian  Social  Reformer,  June  19,  1898. 


PAWARI   BABA.  1 5 

happens  in  India.  The  conflagration  of  the  house  in  which 
the  old  Saint  had  lived  for  many  years  cannot  be  doubted, 
nor  the  discovery  of  his  burnt  body.  But  some  of  his 
friends,  unwilling  to  admit  his  self-immolation,  ascribe  the 
fire  to  an  accident,  while  others  consider  his  voluntary 
sacrifice  as  the  proper  ending  to  his  saintly  life. 

His  name  Pawari,  sometimes  spelt  Pahari,  is  explained  as 
a  contraction  of  Pavanahart,  he  who  lives  on  air. 

His  teaching  was  probably  much  the  same  as  that  of 
Ramakr/sh«a,  but  I  have  not  been  able  to  get  a  more 
accurate  account  of  it.  His  position,  however,  as  a  Sage 
and  a  Saint  seems  to  have  been  generally  recognised,  and 
Keshub  Chunder  Sen  is  a  sufficient  authority  for  the  fact 
that  he  well  deserved  a  place  by  the  side  of  such  men 
as  Dayananda  Sarasvati  and  Ramakr/sh«a.  The  people 
of  India  evidently  distinguish  clearly  between  these  professed 
ascetics  and  saints  on  one  side,  and  mere  reformers  such  as 
Rammohun  Roy  and  Keshub  Chunder  Sen  on  the  other. 
They  evidently  want  to  see  a  complete  surrender  of  the 
world  and  its  pleasures,  riches,  and  honours  before  they 
quite  believe  in  the  truth  and  the  sincerity  of  any  teachers 
and  reformers.  Having  undergone  severe  tortures  and 
penances  is  likewise  an  essential  condition  of  Sainthood, 
and  for  the  crowd  at  large  even  the  power  of  working 
miracles  is  by  no  means  out  of  fashion  yet  as  a  test  of 
being  an  inspired  sage. 

The  best-known  name  by  which  some  of  these  sages  are 
called  isParamaha#zsa,a  name  that  hardly  lends  itself  to  trans- 
lation in  English.  Scholars  who  like  to  cavil  and  raise  a  smile 


1 6      THE   LIFE   AND   SAYINGS   OF   RAMAKK/SHtfA. 

at  every  custom  or  tradition  of  the  Hindus,  translate  it  literally 
by  Great  Goose,  but  it  would  be  more  faithful  to  render 
that  ancient  title  by  High-soaring  Eagle.  Besides,  hawsa, 
though  it  is  the  same  word  as  goose,  is  not  the  same  bird. 
But  though  these  Paramahawsas  form  an  Mite  by  themselves, 
we  know  how  many  men  there  have  been  and  are  even 
now  in  India  who,  by  the  asceticism  and  saintliness  of  their 
lives,  deserve  a  place  very  near  to  the  Paramahawsas  in 
our  estimation.  We  know  how  Udayashankar,  the  Prime 
Minister  of  Bhavnagar,  tried  hard  to  revive,  in  his  own  case, 
the  strict  rules  of  life  prescribed  for  the  ancient  Sa^myasins. 
The  life  of  Keshub  Chunder  Sen  also,  though  he  was 
a  married  man  and  travelled  much  and  moved  in  the  world, 
was  a  life  of  extreme  self-denial,  as  much  as  that  of  any 
Paramaha/tfsa. 

Debendranath.  Tagore. 

The  same  applies  to  Debendranath  Tagore,  the  friend 
and  constant  patron  of  Keshub  Chunder  Sen.  Though  he 
was  the  head  of  a  wealthy  and  influential  family,  he  spent 
most  of  his  life  in  retirement  from  the  world,  in  study, 
meditation,  and  contemplation.  He  has  reached  now  what 
is  considered  a  very  high  age  in  India,  eighty-two,  and  we 
are  glad  to  hear  that  he  has  written  an  autobiography  to  be 
published  after  his  death.  As  the  friend  and  protector  of 
Keshub  Chunder  Sen,  though  for  a  time  separated  from  him, 
he  has  acted  a  far  more  important  part  in  the  history  of  the 
Brahma-Samaj  than  is  commonly  supposed.  The  following 
account  of  a  visit  lately  paid  to  him  by  some  members  of 
the  Brahma-Samaj  will  give  us  an  idea  of  the  life  of  this 


DEBENDRANATH    TAGORE.  17 

man.  I  am  in  possession  of  some  of  his  letters,  which  are 
very  instructive,  but  which  are  hardly  fit  for  publication. 
Some  friends  who  visited  him  lately  give  the  following 
account  of  their  interview  with  the  old  Saint. 

'We  were  conducted  to  the  spacious  verandah  on  the 
second  story,  where  the  venerable  old  man  was  seated  on 
a  chair.  We  bowed  down  reverentially  and  took  our  seats. 
The  Maharshi  was  the  first  to  speak.  He  said :  "  Since  you 
came  here  three  months  ago,  my  communication  with  the 
external  world  has  been  much  diminished.  I  see  things 
much  less  and  hear  much  fewer  words.  But  that  is  no  loss  to 
me.  As  my  dealings  with  the  external  world  are  decreasing, 
my  Yoga  with  the  internal  world  is  rapidly  increasing.  No 
effort  on  my  part  is  now  required  for  communion.  I  sit 
by  myself  and  enjoy  this  company."  As  he  spoke  these 
words  his  countenance  glowed  with  emotion. 

'  On  being  asked  if  he  remembered  the  different  occasions 
on  which  he  selected  the  verses'  from  the  VedSntic 
texts  to  form  the  liturgy  of  the  BrShma-Samaj  (published 
by  him  many  years  ago),  the  Saint  replied:  "I  cannot 
call  back  to  my  mind  after  such  a  length  of  time  the 
process  through  which  these  texts  were  brought  together 
from  different  Upanishads.  I  have  got  the  essence  of  these 
things  within  me  now,  and  I  am  enjoying  the  sweetness 
thereof.  So  there  is  now  no  more  need  for  me  to  go  to 
the  texts.  I  fully  agree  with  you,  that  from  the  True  and  the 
Intelligent  we  go  to  the  Infinite  person,  and  that  then  we  find 
in  the  Infinite  infinite  splendours  and  behold  his  infinite 
mercy  and  other  attributes.  I  might  have  talked  much 

c 


1 8      THE   LIFE   AND    SAYINGS    OF   RAMAKK/SHATA. 

with  you  on  these  subjects,  had  you  come  a  short  time 
before  this.  Now  my  mind  is  mostly  occupied  with  things 
which  the  eyes  see  not  nor  the  ears  hear,  so  I  shall  not  be 
able  to  talk  much  with  you. ...  I  have  written  an  account 
of  my  life  as  I  have  been  moved  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  but 
I  do  not  know  of  what  use  it  will  be.  Now  I  have  become 
quite  useless  to  the  world.  I  have  now  very  little  to 
connect  me  with  the  world."  When  we  replied  that 
we  did  not  consider  his  life  to  have  been  in  vain,  as  he 
had  given  the  world  an  example  of  a  life  lived  in  and 
with  God,  the  Maharshi  continued,  "I  am  living  the  life  of 
a  recluse,  I  have  no  energy  left.  The  energy  and  earnest- 
ness you  see  in  me  now  is  roused  only  by  seeing  you. 
Long,  long  ago,  while  I  was  studying  the  Upanishads, 
a  great  light  dawned  upon  my  soul  and  I  felt  that  India 
would  one  day  worship  Brahman,  the  Only  True  God. 
I  then  badly  wanted  a  companion,  a  man  after  my  own  heart, 
who  would  have  my  feelings  and  join  hands  with  me. 
I  tried  almost  all  the  men  of  light  and  leading  of  the  time, 
but  could  find  none.  I  then  left  Calcutta  in  despair  and 
repaired  to  the  hills.  After  a  two  years'  stay  there,  the  fall 
of  the  river  Sutlej  suggested  to  my  mind  a  sacred  lesson. 
I  heard  a  voice  urging  me  to  go  to  Calcutta  and  resume 
my  holy  work.  I  was  so  much  engrossed  with  this  divine 
voice  that  nothing  would  give  me  rest.  Every  object 
seemed  to  reverberate  the  Divine  injunction  and  press  me 
to  fulfil  the  Lord's  will.  In  all  haste  I  came  back,  and  as 
I  came  back,  Brahmananda  (Keshub  Chunder  Sen)  made 
my  acquaintance.  I  saw  at  once  that  he  was  exactly  the 


DEBENDRANATH   TAGORE.  I 9 

right  man  whom  I  wanted.  I  could  then  discern  why 
I  was  led  by  the  Spirit  to  come  back  to  Calcutta.  My  joy 
knew  no  bounds.  We  passed  the  greater  portion  of  the 
nights  in  conversation  about  deep  spiritual  matters,  even 
up  to  two  in  the  morning.  Brahmananda  even  told  me 
that  when  he  would  be  gone,  those  whom  he  would  leave 
behind  would  express  and  promote  my  cause.  I  find  his 
words  are  going  to  be  fulfilled  now."  "Yes,"  we  replied, 
"  that  is  very  true.  While  our  minister  was  with  us  in  the 
flesh,  we  did  not  realise  our  nearness  unto  you  so  much. 
Our  impression  is  that  the  Brahma-Samaj  has  accepted 
Raja  Rammohun  Roy,  but  has  not  yet  accepted  you.  As 
you  represent  Yoga  or  direct  vision  of  God,  the  Brahma- 
Samaj  will  not  be  able  to  attain  to  that  feature  of  spirituality, 
unless  it  accepts  you.  The  present  deplorable  state  of 
the  Brahma-Samaj  is  owing  to  its  non-acceptance  of  you." 
The  Maharshi  replied :  "  God  has  called  you  to  preach  the 
Brahma  Dharma  to  this  poor  country  of  India,  and  particularly 
to  Bengal — our  weak,  indigent,  and  helpless  country.  As 
the  mother  loves  her  decrepit  child  more  tenderly,  so  God 
has  shown  this  greater  love  to  these  His  poor  ones.  For 
this  special  grace  we  are  peculiarly  thankful  to  God.  God 
has  shown  special  favour  to  you,  and  has  made  you 
particularly  fit  for  your  work.  I  have  published  my  last 
work  about  Paraloka  and  Mukti,  the  next  world  and 
salvation,  in  a  small  volume.  I  make  an  offering  of  it 
to  you."  After  these  words  the  pilgrims  departed,  much 
comforted  and  helped1.' 

1  Unity  and  the  Minister,  1896,  July  12. 

C  2 


2O      THE   LIFE  AND   SAYINGS    OF   RAMAKK7SHJVA. 

I  thought  that  this  glimpse  at  what  passes  in  India 
within  doors,  and  is  but  seldom  seen  or  even  suspected  by 
those  who  tell  us  so  much  about  the  palaces,  the  Rajahs 
and  Maharajahs,  the  car  of  Juggernath,  the  Towers  of 
Silence,  or  the  Caves  of  Ellora,  was  worth  preserving  and 
might  interest  the  true  friends  of  India. 

We  have  but  to  open  the  Indian  papers  to  meet  with 
notices  of  men  who  have  led  the  same  saintly  and  God- 
devoted  life  as  Debendranath  Tagore,  but  who  nevertheless 
have  not  reached  the  rank  of  a  Paramahawsa  in  the  eyes  of 
the  people  of  India.  It  is  quite  possible  that  some  of  them 
who  are  venerated  as  Saints  in  their  own  country,  would  be 
disposed  of  as  fools  or  fanatics  by  European  critics.  Still 
they  hold  their  own  place  in  their  own  country,  and  they 
represent  a  power  which  ought  not  to  be  entirely  neglected 
by  the  rulers  of '  weak,  indigent,  helpless  Bengal.' 

Rai  Shali  grflm  Sahob  Bahadur. 

One  more  case  and  I  have  done  with  my  imperfect 
sketch  of  the  stage  on  which  Ramakr/shna  appears  before 
us  to  act  his  part,  together  with  his  fellow-actors  who  sup- 
ported and  often  guided  him  in  his  unselfish  and  devoted 
endeavours.  We  read  in  the  Prabuddha  Bharata,  May, 
1898,  p.  132.  seq.,  of  one  Rai  Shaligram  Saheb  Bahadur. 
Saheb  Bahadur,  who  is  now  about  seventy  years  of  age, 
has  spent  a  very  active  and  useful  life  as  an  official  in 
the  Post  Office,  where  he  rose  to  be  Postmaster-General 
of  the  North- Western  Provinces.  It  seems  that  the  horrors 
of  the  mutiny  in  1857  made  a  deep  impression  on  his  mind. 


RAI    SHALIGRAM    SAHEB    BAHADUR.  21 

He  saw  thousands  of  men,  women,  and  children  butchered 
before  his  eyes,  the  rich  reduced  to  poverty,  the  poor  raised 
to  unexpected  and  undeserved  wealth,  so  that  the  idea  of 
the  world's  impermanent  and  transient  nature  took  complete 
possession  of  him  and  estranged  him  from  all  that  had 
formerly  enlisted  his  interest  and  occupied  his  energies. 
From  his  very  youth,  however,  his  mind  had  been  filled 
with  religious  and  philosophical  questions,  and  he  is  said  to 
have  devoted  much  time  from  his  youth  onward  through 
all  the  years  of  his  official  life  to  the  study  of  the  Sacred 
Scriptures.  No  wonder  therefore  that  after  witnessing  the 
horrors  of  the  mutiny  and  its  suppression,  he  should  have 
wished  to  flee  from  this  den  of  misery  and  to  get  happiness 
unalloyed  and  permanent  where  alone  it  could  be  found. 
He  went  to  consult  several  Sawnyasins  and  Yogins,  but 
they  could  not  help  him.  At  last  one  of  his  colleagues  at 
the  Post  Office  recommended  his  elder  brother  as  a  spiritual 
guide  who  could  be  trusted.  For  two  years  he  attended  his 
lectures,  compared  his  teaching  with  that  of  the  Upanishads 
and  other  holy  writings,  and  then  became  his  devoted  pupil 
or  Chela.  During  his  stay  at  Agra  he  allowed  no  one  else 
to  serve  his  master.  He  used  to  grind  the  flour  for  him,  to 
cook  his  meals,  and  feed  him  with  his  own  hands.  Every 
morning  he  could  be  seen  carrying  a  pitcher  of  pure  water 
on  his  head  for  the  Guru  to  bathe  in,  which  he  fetched 
from  a  place  two  miles  distant.  His  monthly  salary  also 
was  handed  over  to  the  Saint,  who  used  it  for  the  support  of 
his  pupils,  wife  and  children,  and  spent  the  rest  in  charity. 
All  his  home  affairs  were  superintended  by  his  Guru,  and 


22      THE   LIFE   AND   SAYINGS   OF    RAMAKK/SHtfA. 

this  was  done  in  spite  of  the  opposition  of  his  castemen 
who  were  Kayasthas,  and  did  not  approve  of  one  of  their 
caste  cooking  the  Saint's  food  and  eating  from  his  dishes, 
because  the  Saint  was  a  member  of  another  caste,  that  of 
the  Khetris.  After  some  time  the  pupil  wished  to  retire 
from  the  postal  service,  but  the  Saint  would  not  allow  it. 
When  he  was  appointed  Postmaster-General  of  the  North- 
West  he  fell  on  his  knees  before  the  Saint  and  begged 
his  permission  to  retire  and  enter  soul  and  body  into  the 
true  spiritual  life,  but  the  Saint  once  more  refused,  saying 
that  the  discharge  of  his  official  duties  would  in  no  way 
interfere  with  his  spiritual  progress.  Accordingly  he  left 
Agra,  and  for  many  years  held  his  new  post  at  Allahabad, 
as  it  is  said,  with  great  success,  having  introduced  many 
reforms  and  useful  changes  in  the  Postal  Department. 

It  was  not  till  the  death  of  his  Guru  in  1897  that  the 
Postmaster-General  felt  himself  free  and  justified  in  leaving 
the  service.  He  then  became  a  Guru  himself,  and  im- 
parted spiritual  instruction  to  those  who  came  to  seek  for 
his  help.  Often  those  who  came  to  listen  to  him  were 
so  inspired  by  his  teaching  that  they  renounced  the  world 
and  began  to  lead  the  life  of  Sawnyasins,  so  that  it  became 
a  general  belief  that  whoever  went  to  Rai  Shaligram  would 
forsake  his  family  and  become  an  ascetic.  Nay,  it  was  said 
that  no  one  could  even  look  at  the  lamp  burning  on 
the  upper  story  of  his  house  without  being  influenced  to 
renounce  the  world,  to  forsake  his  relations,  and  thus  to 
become  useless  to  the  community  at  large.  When  last 
heard  of  the  old  man  was  still  alive,  his  house  besieged  every 


RAMAKfl/SHtfA.  2$ 

day  by  large  numbers  of  persons,  both  male  and  female, 
who  flock  there  from  different  parts  of  the  country.  He 
holds  five  meetings  day  and  night  for  the  purpose  of  im- 
parting religious  instruction,  so  that  he  has  hardly  more 
than  two  hours  left  for  sleep.  Everybody  is  welcome,  and 
no  distinction  is  made  between  Brahman  and  .Sudra,  rich 
and  poor,  good  and  bad.  The  people  are  convinced 
that  he  can  work  miracles,  but  he  himself  regards  such 
things  as  unbecoming,  and  below  his  dignity.  It  is  said 
that  the  late  Doctor  Makund  Lai,  Assistant-Surgeon  to  the 
Viceroy,  was  in  the  habit  of  sending  to  him  patients  who 
had  made  themselves  senseless  by  excessive  practice  of 
Prawayama,  restraint  of  the  breath,  and  that  by  a  mere  look  he 
brought  them  back  to  their  senses,  and  taught  them  that 
this  practice  was  of  little  good,  and  in  many  cases  injurious. 

Ramakr;sh«a. 

The  few  cases  mentioned  here  may  suffice  to  show  that 
Ramakr/sh«a  was  by  no  means  a  solitary  instance,  and 
that,  however  much  the  old  social  system  of  the  Four 
Stages  as  described  by  Manu  may  have  changed,  there  are 
still  Sawmyasins  in  India  who  live  the  life  of  the  ancient 
Sawnyasins,  though  of  course  in  different  surroundings  and 
under  different  conditions.  These  cases  are  as  well  authen- 
ticated as  anything  that  conies  to  us  from  India  is  ever 
likely  to  be.  If  we  turned  our  eyes  to  the  ancient  litera- 
ture of  that  country,  we  should  see  Sawnyasins  in  large 
numbers,  but  their  performances  would  probably  be  con- 
sidered as  fabulous,  nor  should  I  venture  to  say  that  they 


24      THE   LIFE   AND   SAYINGS   OF    RAMAK/J/SHJVA. 

are  what  we  mean  by  well  authenticated.  The  fact,  how- 
ever, that  some  of  these  Sawnyasins  reduced  themselves  by 
ascetic  exercises  to  mere  skeletons l  or  became  raving  mad- 
men can  hardly  be  doubted,  if  we  may  judge  by  the  warn- 
ings against  such  excesses  which  appear  at  a  very  early 
time  in  the  ancient  literature  of  the  country.  A  well-known 
instance  is  that  of  Buddha  himself,  who,  before  he  founded 
his  own  religion,  went  through  all  the  tortures  of  Brah- 
manic  ascesis,  but  derived  so  little  benefit  from  them  that 
he  denounced  the  whole  system,  as  then  practised,  not 
only  as  useless  but  as  mischievous,  preferring  in  all  things 
what  he  called  the  via  media. 

If  now  we  turn  our  attention  again  to  the  fourth  of  the 
Paramahawsas,  recognised  by  Keshub  Chunder  Sen  as 
pre-eminent  among  his  contemporaries,  we  shall  feel  less 
surprised  by  his  life  and  his  doctrines,  but  accept  him  as 
one  of  a  class  which  has  always  existed  in  India.  We 
possess  indeed  full  accounts  of  his  life,  but  they  are  often  so 
strangely  exaggerated,  nay  so  contradictory,  that  it  seemed 
almost  hopeless  to  form  a  correct  and  true  idea  of  his  earthly 
career  and  his  character.  I  applied  therefore  to  one  of  his 
most  eminent  pupils,  Vivekananda,  asking  him  to  write  down 
for  me  what  he  could  tell  of  his  own  knowledge  of  his 
venerable  teacher,  and  I  received  from  him  a  full  descrip- 
tion of  his  Master's  life.  It  will  be  easily  seen,  however,  that 
even  this  account  is  not  quite  free  from  traditional  elements. 
If  I  give  it  as  much  as  possible  unaltered,!  have  a  reason  for  it 

1  See  a  remarkable  instance  in  Mrs.  Flora  Annie  Steel's   'In  the 
Permanent  Way,'  1898. 


THE   DIALOGIC   PROCESS.  2$ 

The  Dialogic  Process. 

Such  as  it  is,  it  will  give  us  an  insight  into  the  way  in 
which  a  new  religion,  or  rather  a  new  sect,  springs  up  and 
grows.  It  will  place  before  our  eyes  the  transformation 
which  mere  repetition,  conversation,  or  what  is  called  oral 
tradition  will  and  must  produce  in  the  description  of  the 
facts  as  they  really  happened.  We  can  watch  here  what 
is  really  a  kind  of  Dialectic  Process  which  is  at  work  in  all 
history,  both  ancient  and  modern.  This  Dialectic  Process 
as  applied  to  the  facts  of  history  comprehends  all  the 
changes  which  are  inevitably  produced  by  the  mere  com- 
munication and  interchange  of  ideas,  by  the  give  and  take 
of  dialogue,  by  the  turning  of  thoughts  from  one  side  to 
the  other.  It  is  in  reality  what  is  called  in  German  the 
threshing  out  of  a  subject,  a  kind  of  Durchsprechen,  or 
what  the  Greeks  called  a  speaking  forward  and  backward, 
or  dialogue.  Even  Hegel's  Dialectic  Process,  the  movement 
of  the  idea  by  itself,  that  leads  irresistibly  from  positive  to 
negative  and  to  conciliation,  has  its  origin  in  what  I  should 
prefer  to  call  by  a  wider  name  the  Dialogic  Process^  of  the 
greatest  importance  in  history,  both  ancient  and  modern. 
There  is  hardly  a  single  fact  in  history  which  can  escape 
being  modified  by  this  process  before  it  reaches  the  writer 
of  history.  It  must  be  distinguished  from  the  Mytho- 
logical Process^  which  forms  indeed  a  part  of  it,  but  acts 
under  much  more  special  rules.  We  can  watch  the  Dialogic 
Process  in  Modern  History  also,  though  we  have  here 
reporters,  and  newspapers,  the  autobiographies  and  remin- 


26      THE   LIFE   AND   SAYINGS   OF   RAMAICR/SKYA. 

iscences  of  great  statesmen  which  would  seem  to  render 
this  Dialogic  infection  impossible  or  harmless.  We  can 
only  guess  what  it  must  have  been  in  times  when  neither 
shorthand  nor  printing  existed,  when  writing  and  reading 
were  the  privilege  of  a  small  class,  and  when  very  often 
two  or  three  generations  had  passed  away  before  the  idea 
of  recording  certain  facts  and  certain  sayings  occurred  to 
a  chronicler  or  a  historiographer.  It  is  extraordinary  that 
so  many  historians  should  have  completely  neglected  this 
Dialogic  Process  through  which  everything  must  pass  before 
it  reaches  even  the  first  recorder,  forgetting  that  it  could 
never  have  been  absent  How  many  difficulties  would  have 
been  solved,  how  many  contradictions  explained,  nay  how 
many  miracles  would  become  perfectly  natural  and  intel- 
ligible, if  historians  would  only  learn  this  one  lesson,  that 
we  do  not  and  cannot  know  of  any  historical  event  that  has 
not  previously  passed  through  this  Dialogic  Process. 

Let  us  take  so  recent  an  event  as  the  telegram  sent  from 
Ems,  where  I  am  writing.  It  was  meant  to  tell  the  world  of 
the  supposed  insult  which  Benedetti  had  offered  to  the  King 
of  Prussia.  That  telegram  marks  one  of  the  most  decisive 
events  in  modern  history,  it  has  really  helped  to  change  the 
whole  face  of  Europe.  What  do  we  know  of  it,  even  after 
Bismarck's  own  confessions,  beyond  what  he  thought  and 
spoke  in  his  own  mind,  beyond  what  he  said  to  my  friend 
Abeken,  who  wrote  it  out  and  sent  it  off,  beyond  what  the 
people  in  Germany  and  in  France  thought  of  it,  said  of  it, 
made  of  it,  whether  as  justifying  or  condemning  the  war 
that  sprang  out  of  it.  Shall  we  ever  know  the  ipsissima 


THE   DIALOGIC    PROCESS.  27 

verba  of  Benedetti,  his  tone  of  voice,  the  tone  of  voice  in 
the  Emperor's  reply,  the  consternation  or  chuckle  when 
the  iron  chancellor  heard  from  all  parts  of  Europe  the  echo 
of  his  own  words  and  thoughts.  And  yet  all  this  happened 
but  yesterday.  Benedetti  himself  has  told  us  what  he 
actually  said,  what  the  Emperor  replied ;  Bismarck  himself 
has  told  us  what  he  meant  when  he  had  the  cooked  telegram 
published  to  all  the  world.  Does  the  historian  know  then 
what  really  happened,  what  was  intended  by  the  words  used 
by  Benedetti,  by  the  Emperor,  and  by  Bismarck  ?  Here  in 
Ems  the  very  spot  is  shown  where  the  words  were  spoken, 
though  opinions  vary  even  on  this  point.  We  possess  now 
the  version  given  by  the  French  diplomatist  which  is  totally 
different  from  that  given  by  Bismarck,  and  yet  they  had 
passed  through  one  Dialogic  Process  only,  that  of  the  old 
King  in  his  conversation  with  Benedetti  and  in  his  com- 
munications with  his  ministers.  Again,  every  reader  of 
modern  history  is  acquainted  with  the  words  put  into  the 
mouth  of  the  French  officer  at  Waterloo,  La  guarde  meurt, 
mat's  tie  se  rend  pas ;  and  every  reader  of  French  Memoirs 
knows  by  this  time  the  real  word  which  is  said  to  have 
been  uttered  at  that  historical  moment.  How  can  we 
ever  hope  to  escape  from  the  transforming  power  of  oral 
tradition? 

The  changes  wrought  by  that  power  are  of  course  more 
or  less  violent  according  to  circumstances  ;  entirely  absent, 
I  believe,  they  never  are.  And  nowhere  are  they  more 
evident  than  in  the  accounts  which  have  reached  us  of 
the  founding  of  new  religions  and  of  their  founders.  In 


28      THE   LIFE   AND   SAYINGS   OF    RAMAKK/SHJVA. 

the  case  of  Buddhism,  it  is  well  known  that  some  excellent 
scholars  have  actually  denied  that  there  ever  was  such 
a  person  as  the  young  prince  of  KapilavSstu,  of  whose  life 
and  doings  and  sayings  we  possess  fuller  accounts  than  of 
the  founders  of  any  other  religion.  And  let  it  be  remem- 
bered that  no  revealed  or  miraculous  character  is  claimed 
for  Buddha's  biographies,  nay  that  Buddha  himself  rejected 
any  such  exceptional  claims  for  himself  and  for  his 
apostles,  being  satisfied  with  having  been  a  man  on  earth, 
which,  according  to  him,  is  the  highest  form  of  being  in 
the  world,  potentially,  and  is,  even  in  reality,  high  above 
all  angels  and  above  all  gods  (devas),  such  as  they  were  in 
his  time.  Atideva,  above  all  gods,  is  one  of  the  names 
assigned  to  Buddha,  showing  the  estimation  in  which 
Buddha  and  in  which  the  gods  were  held  by  their  followers. 
This  inevitable  influence  of  the  Dialogic  Process  in 
history  cannot  be  recognised  too  soon.  It  will  remove 
endless  difficulties  by  which  we  are  ensnared,  endless  dis- 
honesties in  which  we  have  ensnared  ourselves.  If  we 
once  understand  that  after  only  one  day,  one  week,  one 
year  any  communication,  even  a  communication  given  from 
heaven,  must  suffer  the  consequences  of  this  Dialogic  Process, 
must  be  infected  by  the  breath  of  human  thought  and  of 
human  weakness,  many  a  self-made  difficulty  will  vanish, 
many  a  story  distorted  by  the  childish  love  of  the  miraculous 
will  regain  its  true  moral  character,  many  a  face  disguised 
by  a  misplaced  apotheosis  will  look  upon  us  again  with 
his  truly  human,  loving,  and  divine  eyes.  All  honest  hearts, 
whatever  religion  they  may  profess,  will  feel  relieved  and 


THE   DIALOGIC   PROCESS.  29 

grateful  if  they  once  thoroughly  understand  the  dialectic  or 
dialogic  working  of  oral  tradition,  particularly  where  it  can 
be  traced  back  to  pure  and  perfectly  natural  sources. 

It  is  for  this  very  reason,  and  because  this  process  can 
be  so  seldom  watched,  but  can  generally  be  traced  in 
its  later  results  only,  that  even  this  slight  sketch  of  what 
a  disciple  of  Ramakr/sh^a,  with  every  wish  to  be  truthful, 
can  tell  us  of  his  master,  may  be  of  some  interest  to  our- 
selves both  for  its  own  sake  and  for  the  light  which  it  throws 
on  the  conditions  under  which  every  religion  has  to  grow 
up  and  to  be  recorded.  Nothing  is  so  human  as  religion, 
nothing  so  much  exposed  to  the  frailties  inherent  in  human 
nature.  Whatever  the  origin  of  a  religion  may  be  supposed 
to  have  been,  its  growth  from  the  very  first  depends  clearly 
on  the  recipient  soil,  that  is,  on  human  nature,  and  to 
study  that  human  nature  as  it  reacts  on  religion  is  one 
of  the  most  useful  lessons  of  Comparative  Theology. 

I  had  made  it  as  clear  as  possible  to  Vivekananda  that 
the  accounts  hitherto  published  of  his  Master,  however 
edifying  they  might  be  to  his  followers,  would  sound 
perfectly  absurd  to  European  students,  that  stories  of 
miraculous  events  in  childhood,  of  apparitions  of  goddesses 
(dev!)  communicating  to  the  Sawnyasin  a  knowledge  of 
languages  and  literatures  which,  as  we  know,  he  never 
possessed  in  real  life,  would  simply  be  thrown  away  on 
us  poor  unbelievers,  and  that  descriptions  of  miracles  per- 
formed by  the  Saint,  however  well  authenticated,  would 
produce  the  very  opposite  effect  of  what  they  were  in- 
tended for.  Vivekananda  himself  is  a  man  who  knows 


30      THE   LIFE   AND   SAYINGS   OF 

England  and  America  well,  and  perfectly  understood  what 
I  meant.  Yet  even  his  unvarnished  description  of  his 
Master  discloses  here  and  there  the  clear  traces  of  what 
I  call  the  Dialogic  Process,  and  the  irrepressible  miraculising 
tendencies  of  devoted  disciples.  And  I  am  really  glad  that 
it  does  so,  if  only  it  helps  to  teach  us  that  no  historian 
can  ever  pretend  to  do  more  than  to  show  us  what  a  man 
or  a  fact  seemed  to  be  to  him  or  to  the  authorities  whom 
he  has  to  follow,  and  not  what  he  or  it  actually  was. 
I  have  also,  as  far  as  I  could,  consulted  another  account 
of  the  life  of  Ramakr*sh«a  published  in  the  late  numbers 
of  the  Brahmavadin.  But  I  am  sorry  to  say  that  this 
account  stops  with  No.  19,  and  has  not  been  continued. 

Ramakn'shna's  Life. 

RSmakmhna,  we  are  told,  was  born  in  the  village  of 
KamSrpukar,  in  the  Zillah  Hugli,  situated  about  four  miles 
to  the  west  of  the  Jahanabad  subdivision,  and  thirty-two 
miles  south  of  Burdwan.  His  life  on  earth  began  on  the 
2oth  of  February,  1833,  and  ended  the  i6th  of  August, 
1886,  i  a.m.1  The  village  in  which  he  was  born  was 
inhabited  chiefly  by  people  of  the  lower  castes,  mostly 
blacksmiths,  Kannakars,  or  in  familiar  abbreviation,  Ka- 
mars,  and  hence  called  Kamarpukar,  with  some  sprinkling 
of  carpenters,  cowherds  (Gowalas),  husbandmen  (Kai- 
vartas),  and  oilmen  (Telis).  His  father  was  the  head 

1  Even  dates  are  inaccurate  in  the  biographical  notices  of  Rama- 
krishna,  as  published  in  various  Indian  papers  immediately  after 
his  death. 


RAMAKR7SH2VA  S   LIFE.  3 1 

of  the  only  Brahmanic  family  settled  in  the  village. 
Though  very  poor,  he  would  rather  starve  than  stray 
from  the  strictest  path  of  Brahmanical  orthodoxy.  The 
original  name  given  to  his  child  was  Gadadhara,  a  name 
of  Vish«u,  which  means  one  who  holds  the  club,  and  it 
was  given  him,  we  are  told,  on  account  of  a  prophetic 
dream  of  his  father,  to  whom,  while  on  a  pilgrimage 
to  Gya,  Vishmi  appeared,  telling  him  that  he,  the  deity, 
would  be  born  as  his  son.  It  was  later  in  life  that  he 
began  to  be  called  Ramaknsh«a.  We  are  told,  and  we 
could  hardly  have  expected  anything  else,  that  his  father, 
whose  name  was  Khudiram  Chattopadhyaya,  was  a  great 
lover  of  God,  a  man  pure  in  mind,  handsome  of  figure, 
straightforward  and  independent.  Rumour  says — and 
what  is  rumour  but  another  name  for  the  Dialogic 
Process  of  which  we  spoke — that  he  possessed  super- 
natural powers,  particularly  what  is  called  Vak-siddhi, 
power  of  speech,  which  means  that  everything  he  told, 
good  or  bad,  of  anybody,  would  always  come  to  pass. 
He  was  highly  reverenced  by  all  the  people  of  his  village, 
who  stood  up  whenever  they  saw  him  coming,  and  saluted 
him,  nay  who  would  never  talk  frivolity  in  his  presence. 

It  could  hardly  have  been  otherwise  than  that  his  mother 
also,  Chandramam  Devi,  was  a  pattern  of  simplicity  and 
kindness.  We  are  told  that  Mathura  Nath,  the  rich  and 
devoted  disciple  of  her  son,  came  to  her  once  and  pressed 
her  to  accept  a  present  of  a  few  thousand  rupees,  but  to 
his  astonishment  she  declined  the  offer. 

The  father  proved  his  independence  while  still  living  at 


32      THE   LIFE  AND   SAYINGS   OF   RAMAK/tfSHtfA. 

Dere,  on  his  own  ancestral  property.  The  Zemindar  of  the 
village  wanted  him  to  appear  as  a  witness  on  his  side, 
threatening  him  with  confiscation  of  his  property  and  ex- 
pulsion from  his  village,  if  he  refused.  Khudiram  refused, 
left  his  village,  and  migrated  to  Kamarpur,  a  village  two  or 
three  miles  east  of  Dere.  There,  through  the  help  of  some 
true  friends,  he  managed  to  make  a  poor  living,  and  yet  he 
was  always  profusely  generous  to  the  poor  and  hospitable 
to  everybody,  living  chiefly  in  the  company  of  religious 
men,  performing  every  kind  of  worship,  and  trying  to 
realise  religion  to  its  fullest  extent. 

There  is  a  story  that  Ramakr/shna's  father  was  going 
to  pay  a  visit  to  his  daughter  one  day,  some  twelve  or 
fourteen  miles  from  the  place  where  he  lived.  After 
travelling  more  than  half  the  way,  he  came  across  a  Bel- 
tree,  beautifully  covered  with  new-grown  green  leaves. 
These  leaves  are  very  sacred  to  a  Hindu,  and  they  use 
them  in  worshipping  the  god  .Siva.  It  was  spring-time. 
The  Bel-trees  were  casting  off  their  old  leaves,  and  the 
man  had  not  recently  been  able  to  find  any  good  leaves 
to  offer  to  .Siva.  On  finding  these,  he  at  once  climbed  up 
the  tree,  gathered  as  many  leaves  as  he  could  carry,  and 
returned  home  to  worship  .Siva,  without  going  to  see  his 
daughter.  He  was  a  great  lover  of  Rama,  and  his  tutelary 
deity  was  the  pure  and  divine  Sri  Rama£andra.  He  had 
a  little  plot  of  land  outside  the  village,  and  in  the  sowing 
time,  after  getting  a  man  to  plough  the  field,  he  would  go 
himself,  put  a  few  grains  of  rice  in  the  name  of  Raghuvira 
on  the  ground  first,  and  then  order  the  labourers  to  finish 


RAMAKWSHtfA  S    LIFE.  33 

the  work.  It  is  said  that  that  little  plot  of  land  produced 
enough,  as  long  as  he  lived,  to  maintain  the  whole  of  the 
family.  He  ever  depended  upon  his  Raghuvira,  or  the  hero 
of  the  race  of  Raghu,  the  divine  Rama,  and  never  cared  for 
the  morrow.  His  son  Ramak;v'sh«a,  we  are  told,  had 
something  in  him  which  attracted  everybody  and  made 
people  love  him,  as  if  he  were  of  their  own  kith  and  kin, 
even  at  the  first  appearance. 

The  young  child  used  to  repeat  the  whole  of  the  religious 
operas  and  dramas,  the  acting,  the  music,  and  everything, 
after  hearing  them  once.  He  had  a  very  good  musical 
voice  and  a  taste  for  music.  He  was  a  very  good  judge 
of  the  merits  and  defects  of  the  statues  or  images  of  gods 
or  goddesses,  and  his  judgment  was  held  as  final  by  the 
old  people  of  the  village,  even  from  his  childhood.  He 
could  draw  and  make  images  of  gods  himself.  One  of 
the  broken  stone  images  of  Sri  Krishna,  which  he  repaired 
in  later  days,  is  still  to  be  seen  in  the  temple  of  Dakshines- 
vara  of  Rani  Rasmoni,  about  four  miles  to  the  north  of 
Calcutta.  After  hearing  a  religious  drama,  e.  g.  the  doings 
of  Su  Krishna,  he  would  gather  his  playmates,  teach  them 
the  different  parts,  and  enact  it  in  the  fields,  under  the 
trees.  Sometimes  he  would  build  an  image  of  the  god 
.Siva,  and  worship  it  with  his  companions.  At  the  age  of 
six  he  was  well  versed  in  the  Pura«as,  likewise  in  the 
Ramaya/za,  the  Mahabharata,  and  the  .Srimad  Bhagavata, 
by  hearing  them  from  the  Kayaks,  a  class  of  men  who 
preach  and  read  these  Pura«as  for  the  enlightenment  of 
the  uneducated  masses  all  over  India.  (His  knowledge  of 

D 


34      THE  LIFE  AND  SAYINGS  OF  RAMAKU7SRVA. 

the  Puranas,  the  Mahabharata,  the  Ramayana,  and  the 
Bhagavata  must  have  been  in  Bengali,  as  he  never,  ac- 
cording to  Mozoomdar,  who  was  his  friend,  knew  a  word 
of  Sanskrit) 

The  pilgrim  road  to  Pur!  passes  through  the  outskirts 
of  the  village  where  he  lived,  and  very  often  a  whole  host 
of  ascetics  and  religious  men  would  come  and  take  shelter 
in  the  Pharmacia  or  pilgrim-house,  built  by  the  Liha 
family,  the  Zemindar  of  the  village.  Ramakr/slvxa  used 
to  go  there  very  often,  talk  to  them  on  religious  subjects, 
mark  their  habits,  and  hear  their  tales  of  travel. 

It  is  the  custom  in  India  to  gather  all  the  learned  pandits 
or  professors  of  the  neighbourhood  at  a  funeral  ceremony. 
In  one  of  these  gatherings  in  the  house  of  the  Laha  family, 
a  question  arose  about  some  intricate  points  of  theology,  and 
the  professors  could  not  come  to  a  conclusion.  The  boy 
Ramakrrsh/za  went  to  them  and  decided  it  quickly  with  his 
simple  language,  and  all  present  were  astonished.  (This 
might  be  taken  from  any  Evangelium  infantine.) 

Before  he  reached  his  teens,  he  was  walking  in  the  fields 
one  day.  The  sky  was  very  clear  and  blue,  and  he  saw 
a  flight  of  white  cranes  moving  along  it  The  contrast  of 
colours  was  so  very  beautiful  and  dazzling  to  his  imagination, 
and  produced  such  thoughts  in  him,  that  he  fell  down  in 
a  trance.  (This  would  admit  of  a  very  natural  pathological 
explanation,  and  may  therefore  be  perfectly  true,  though  it 
would  easily  lend  itself  to  further  poetical  expansion.) 

He  was  the  youngest  child  of  a  family  of  three  sons  and 
two  daughters.  His  eldest  brother,  Ramkumar  Chattopa- 


RAMAK/2/SHtf  A  S   LIFE.  35 

dhyaya,  was  a  very  learned  professor  of  the  old  school.  He 
had  his  own  school  at  Calcutta.  At  the  age  of  sixteen 
Ramakr/srma,  having  been  invested  by  his  own  father  with 
the  sacred  Brahmanic  thread,  was  taken  to  this  school,  but 
what  was  his  disgust  to  find  that  after  all  their  high  talk  on 
being  and  non-being,  on  Brahman  and  Maya1,  on  how  the 
soul  is  liberated  by  the  realisation  of  Atman,  they  would 
never  dream  of  practising  these  precepts  in  their  own  lives,  but 
run  after  lust  and  gold,  after  name  and  fame.  He  told  his 
brother  plainly  he  would  never  care  for  that  kind  of  learning, 
the  sole  aim  of  which  was  to  gain  a  few  pieces  of  silver,  or 
a  few  maunds  of  rice  and  vegetables.  He  yearned  to  learn 
something  which  would  raise  him  above  all  these,  and  give 
him  as  a  recompense  God  Himself.  From  that  time  he 
kept  aloof  from  the  school. 

The  temple  of  the  goddess  Kali  at  Dakshi«e.rvara,  about 
five  miles  to  the  north  of  Calcutta,  was  established  in  1853  A.D. 
It  stands  on  the  side  of  the  Ganges,  and  is  one  of  the  finest 
temples  in  India.  The  temple  deeds  were  drawn  in  the 
name  of  the  Guru,  or  spiritual  director  of  Rani  R&smoni, 
for  she  being  of  a  lower  caste,  none  of  the  higher  castes 
would  come  to  the  temple  and  take  food  there  if  she  drew 
the  deeds  in  her  own  name.  The  eldest  brother  of  Sri  Rama- 
kn'srma  was  appointed  as  priest  to  the  temple.  The  two 
brothers  came  on  the  day  when  the  temple  was  first  opened 
and  established,  but  such  were  the  caste  prejudices  of  Rama- 
kr/sh«a  at  that  time  that  he  protested  vehemently  against 
his  brother's  taking  service  under  a  .Sudra  woman,  or  one  of 
the  lowest  caste,  and  would  not  take  any  cooked  food  in 

D  2 


36      THE  LIFE  AND  SAYINGS  OF 

the  temple  precincts,  because  it  was  forbidden  in  the  .Sastras. 
So,  amidst  all  the  rejoicings  of  the  day,  in  which  some  fifteen 
to  twenty  thousand  people  were  sumptuously  entertained, 
he  was  the  only  man  who  kept  his  fast.  At  night  he  went 
to  the  grocer's  close  by,  took  a  pice-worth  of  fried  paddy, 
and  returned  to  Calcutta.  But  after  a  week  his  love  for 
his  brother  made  him  return  again,  and  at  his  entreaty  he 
consented  to  live  there,  on  condition,  however,  that  he  should 
be  allowed  to  cook  his  own  meals  by  the  side  of  the  Ganges, 
which  is  the  holiest  place  according  to  the  Hindus.  A  few 
months  afterwards  his  brother  became  incapable  of  con- 
ducting the  services  through  illness,  and  requested  Rama- 
krt'shna.  to  take  charge  of  the  duties.  He  consented  at 
last,  and  became  a  recognised  worshipper  of  the  goddess 
Kali. 

Sincere  as  he  always  was,  he  could  do  nothing  from 
mercenary  motives,  nor  did  he  ever  do  anything  which  he 
did  not  thoroughly  believe.  He  now  began  to  look  upon 
the  image  of  the  goddess  Kali  as  his  mother  and  the  mother 
of  the  universe.  He  believed  it  to  be  living  and  breathing 
and  taking  food  out  of  his  hand.  After  the  regular  forms  of 
worship  he  would  sit  there  for  hours  and  hours,  singing 
hymns  and  talking  and  praying  to  her  as  a  child  to  his 
mother,  till  he  lost  all  consciousness  of  the  outward  world. 
Sometimes  he  would  weep  for  hours,  and  would  not  be 
comforted,  because  he  could  not  see  his  mother  as  perfectly 
as  he  wished.  People  became  divided  in  their  opinions 
regarding  him.  Some  held  the  young  priest  to  be  mad,  and 
some  took  him  to  be  a  great  lover  of  God,  and  all  this 


LIFE.  37 

outward  madness  as  the  manifestation  of  that  love.  His 
mother  and  brothers,  thinking  that  his  imagination  would 
calm  down  when  he  had  a  young  wife  and  a  family  of  his 
own  to  look  after,  took  him  to  his  native  village  and  married 
him  to  the  daughter  of  Rama  Chandra  Mukhopadhyaya,  who 
was  then  five  years  of  age,  iSrimati  Saroda  Devi  or  Sara- 
damani  Devi  by  name.  It  is  said  when  his  mother  and 
brothers  were  looking  after  a  suitable  bride  for  him,  he 
himself  told  them  that  the  daughter  of  such  and  such  a  man 
was  destined  to  be  joined  to  him  in  marriage,  and  that  she 
was  endowed  with  all  the  qualities  of  a  goddess  or  Devi, 
and  they  went  and  found  the  bride. 

He  used  to  hold  that  some  women  were  born  with  all  the 
qualities  of  a  Devt,  and  some  with  the  opposite  qualities — 
the  Asuri,  or  the  demoniacal.  The  former  would  help  their 
husbands  in  becoming  religious,  and  would  never  lead  them 
to  lust  and  sensuality,  and  he  could  distinguish  them  by 
their  mere  appearance.  A  woman,  a  perfect  stranger  to 
him,  came  to  see  him  once  at  Dakshi/zejvara  many  years 
afterwards.  She  was  of  a  noble  family,  the  wife  of  a  gentle- 
man, and  mother  of  five  or  six  children,  yet  looked  still 
very  young  and  beautiful.  Ramakr;sh«a  told  his  disciples 
at  once  that  she  had  the  qualities  of  a  Devi  in  her,  and  he 
would  prove  it  to  them.  He  ordered  them  to  burn  some 
incense  before  her,  and  taking  some  flowers,  placed  them  on 
her  feet  and  addressed  her  as  '  mother.'  And  the  lady  who 
never  knew  anything  before  of  meditation,  or  Samadhi,  and 
had  never  seen  him  before,  fell  into  a  deep  trance  with  her 
hands  lifted  as  in  the  act  of  blessing.  That  trance  did  not 


38      THE  LIFE  AND  SAYINGS  OF  RAMAKK/SHtfA. 

leave  her  for  some  hours,  and  he  got  frightened  at  the 
thought  that  her  husband  would  accuse  him  of  some  black 
magic.  He  began,  therefore,  to  pray  to  his  mother  Kill 
(the  goddess)  to  bring  her  back  to  her  senses.  By-and-by 
she  came  to  herself,  and  when  she  opened  her  eyes  they 
were  quite  red,  and  she  looked  as  if  she  were  quite  drunk. 
Her  attendants  had  to  support  her  while  she  got  into  a 
carriage,  then  she  drove  back  home.  This  is  one  of  many 
instances  of  the  same  kind  (evidently  cases  of  hypnosis). 

Of  men  he  used  to  tell  the  same.  In  his  later  days,  when 
crowds  of  men  and  boys  came  to  him  to  learn,  he  would 
select  and  point  out  some  who,  he  said,  would  realise 
religion  in  this  life,  and  of  the  rest  he  would  say  that  they 
must  enjoy  life  a  little  longer  before  they  would  have 
a  sincere  desire  for  religion.  He  used  to  say,  '  That  man 
who  had  been  an  emperor  in  his  former  birth,  who  had 
enjoyed  the  highest  pleasures  the  world  can  give,  and  who 
had  seen  the  vanities  of  them  all,  would  attain  to  perfection 
in  this  life  on  earth.' 

After  his  marriage  he  returned  to  Calcutta  and  took  upon 
himself  the  charges  of  the  temple  again,  but  instead  of 
toning  down,  his  fervour  and  devotion  increased  a  thousand- 
fold. His  whole  soul,  as  it  were,  melted  into  one  flood  of 
tears,  and  he  appealed  to  the  goddess  to  have  mercy  on 
him  and  reveal  herself  to  him.  No  mother  ever  shed  such 
burning  tears  over  the  death-bed  of  her  only  child.  Crowds 
assembled  round  him  and  tried  to  console  him,  when  the 
blowing  of  the  conch-shells  proclaimed  the  death  of  another 
day,  and  he  gave  vent  to  his  sorrow,  saying, '  Mother,  oh  my 


RAMAKR/SHtfAS    LIFE.  39 

mother,  another  day  has  gone,  and  still  I  have  not  found 
thee.'  People  thought  he  was  mad,  or  that  he  was  suffering 
from  some  acute  pain,  for  how  was  it  possible  for  them, 
devoted  as  they  were  to  lust  and  gold,  to  name  and  fame, 
to  imagine  that  a  man  could  love  his  God  or  Goddess 
Mother  with  as  much  intensity  as  they  loved  their  wives  and 
children  ?  The  son-in-law  of  Rani  Rasmoni,  Babu  Mathura- 
nath,  who  had  always  had  a  love  for  this  young  Brahman, 
took  him  to  the  best  physicians  in  Calcutta  to  get  him 
cured  of  his  madness.  But  all  their  skill  was  of  no  avail. 
Only  one  physician  of  Dacca  told  them  that  this  man  was 
a  great  Yogin  or  ascetic,  and  that  all  their  pharmacopoeia 
was  useless  for  curing  his  disease,  if  intleed  it  were  a  disease 
at  all.  So  his  friends  gave  him  up  as  lost. 

Meanwhile  he  increased  in  love  and  devotion  day  by 
day.  One  day  as  he  was  feeling  his  separation  from  Devi 
very  keenly,  and  thinking  of  putting  an  end  to  himself,  as 
he  could  not  bear  his  loneliness  any  longer,  he  lost  all 
outward  sensation,  and  saw  his  mother  (Kali)  in  a  vision. 
These  visions  came  to  him  again  and  again,  and  then  he 
became  calmer.  Sometimes  he  doubted  whether  these 
visions  were  really  true,  and  then  he  would  say,  '  I  would 
believe  them  true,  if  such  and  such  a  thing  happened,'  and 
it  would  invariably  happen,  even  at  the  very  hour  he  ex- 
pected. For  instance,  he  said  one  day,  'I  could  believe 
them  true,  and  not  resulting  from  a  disease  of  my  brain, 
if  the  two  young  daughters  of  Rani  Rasmoni,  who  never 
once  came  to  this  temple,  would  come  under  the  big  banyan- 
tree  this  afternoon,  and  would  speak  to  me,'  though  he  was 


4O       THE  LIFE  AND  SAYINGS  OF  RAMAKU/SHJVA. 

a  perfect  stranger  to  them.  And  what  was  his  astonishment 
when  he  saw  them  standing  under  the  tree  at  the  exact 
hour,  and  calling  him  by  name,  and  telling  him  to  be 
consoled,  for  the  Mother  Kail  would  surely  have  mercy  on 
him.  These  ladies  of  the  Zenana  had  never  come  to  a  public 
place,  especially  when  young,  but  somehow  or  other  they 
got  a  strong  desire  to  see  that  temple  that  very  day,  and 
they  got  permission  to  go  there. 

These  visions  grew  more  and  more,  and  his  trances 
became  longer  and  longer  in  duration,  till  every  one  saw 
it  was  no  longer  possible  for  him  to  perform  his  daily 
course  of  duties.  For  instance,  it  is  prescribed  in  the 
.Sastras  that  a  man  should  put  a  flower  over  his  own  head 
and  think  of  himself  as  the  very  god  or  goddess  he  is  going 
to  worship,  and  Ramakr/sh«a,  as  he  put  the  flower,  and 
thought  himself  as  identified  with  his  mother,  would  get 
entranced,  and  would  remain  in  that  state  for  hours.  Then 
again,  from  time  to  time,  he  would  entirely  lose  his  own 
identity,  so  much  so  as  to  appropriate  to  himself  the  offerings 
brought  for  the  goddess.  Sometimes  forgetting  to  adorn 
the  image,  he  would  adorn  himself  with  the  flowers. 
Mathuranath  at  first  objected  to  this,  but  shortly  after- 
wards, it  is  said,  he  saw  the  body  of  Ramakr;sh»a  trans- 
figured into  that  of  the  god  Siva,  and  from  that  day 
forward  he  looked  upon  him  as  God  Himself,  and 
addressed  him  always  as  Father  whenever  he  spoke  to 
him.  He  appointed  the  nephew  of  Ramakr/sh«a  to 
conduct  the  regular  services,  and  left  him  free  to  do 
whatever  he  liked. 


RAMAK.R7SH.yA  S   LIFE.  4! 

The  ardent  soul  of  Ramakr/'sh^a  could  not  remain  quiet 
with  these  frequent  visions,  but  ran  eagerly  to  attain  per- 
fection and  realisation  of  God  in  all  His  different  aspects. 
He  thus  began  the  twelve  years  of  unheard-of  tapasya,  or 
ascetic  exercises.  Looking  back  to  these  years  of  self- 
torture  in  his  later  days,  he  said,  'that  a  great  religious 
tornado,  as  it  were,  raged  within  him  during  these  years  and 
made  everything  topsy-turvy.'  He  had  no  idea  then  that 
it  lasted  for  so  long  a  time.  He  never  had  a  wink  of  sound 
sleep  during  these  years,  could  not  even  doze,  but  his  eyes 
would  remain  always  open  and  fixed.  He  thought  some- 
times that  he  was  seriously  ill,  and  holding  a  looking-glass 
before  him,  he  put  his  finger  within  the  sockets  of  the  eye, 
that  the  lids  might  close,  but  they  would  not.  In  his 
despair  he  cried  out,  '  Mother,  oh !  my  mother,  is  this  the 
result  of  calling  upon  thee  and  believing  in  thee?'  And 
anon  a  sweet  voice  would  come,  and  a  sweeter  smiling  face, 
and  said,  '  My  son !  how  could  you  hope  to  realise  the 
highest  truth,  if  you  don't  give  up  the  love  of  your  body 
and  of  your  little  self? '  '  A  torrent  of  spiritual  light,'  he 
said,  '  would  come  then,  deluging  my  mind  and  urging  me 
forward.  I  used  to  tell  my  mother,  "Mother!  I  could 
never  learn  from  these  erring  men;  but  I  will  learn  from 
thee,  and  thee  alone,"  and  the  same  voice  would  say,  "  Yea, 
my  son  ! " '  'I  did  not  once/  he  continued,  ' look  to  the 
preservation  of  my  body.  My  hair  grew  till  it  became 
matted,  and  I  had  no  idea  of  it.  My  nephew,  Hr/daya, 
used  to  bring  me  some  food  daily,  and  some  days  succeeded 
and  some  days  did  not  succeed  in  forcing  a  few  mouthfuls 


42      THE  LIFE  AND  SAYINGS  OF  RAMAK/Z/SHJVA. 

down  my  throat,  though  I  had  no  idea  of  it.  Sometimes 
I  used  to  go  to  the  closet  of  the  servants  and  sweepers  and 
clean  it  with  my  own  hands,  and  prayed,  "  Mother !  destroy 
in  me  all  idea  that  I  am  great,  and  that  I  am  a  Brahman, 
and  that  they  are  low  and  pariahs,  for  who  are  they  but 
Thou  in  so  many  forms?"' 

'Sometimes,'  he  said,  CI  would  sit  by  the  Ganges, 
with  some  gold  and  silver  coins  and  a  heap  of  rubbish 
by  my  side,  and  taking  some  coins  in  my  right  hand 
and  a  handful  of  rubbish  in  the  left,  I  would  tell  my 
soul,  "  My  soul !  this  is  what  the  world  calls  money, 
impressed  with  the  queen's  face.  It  has  the  power  of 
bringing  you  rice  and  vegetables,  of  feeding  the  poor,  of 
building  houses,  and  doing  all  that  the  world  calls  great, 
but  it  can  never  help  thee  to  realise  the  ever-existent 
knowledge  and  bliss,  the  Brahman.  Regard  it,  therefore, 
as  rubbish."  Then  mixing  the  coins  and  the  rubbish  in 
my  hands,  while  repeating  all  the  time,  "money  is  rubbish, 
money  is  rubbish,"  I  lost  all  perception  of  difference 
between  the  two  in  my  mind,  and  threw  them  both  into  the 
Ganges.  No  wonder  people  took  me  for  mad.'  About 
this  time  Mathuranatha,  who  was  very  devoted  to  him,  one 
day  put  a  shawl  fringed  with  gold  round  him,  which  cost 
about  1,500  Rs.  At  first  he  seemed  to  be  pleased  with  it. 
But  what  was  the  astonishment  of  Mathuranatha  when 
the  next  moment  Ramakrrsh«a  threw  it  on  the  ground, 
trampled  and  spat  on  it,  and  began  to  cleanse  the  floor  of 
the  room  with  it,  saying,  '  It  increases  vanity,  but  it  can 
never  help  to  realise  the  ever-existent  knowledge  and  bliss 


RAMAKK7SHATA  S   LIFE.  43 

(Sat-kit-Snanda),  and  therefore  is  no  better  than  a  piece  of 
torn  rag.' 

'  About  this  time,'  he  said,  '  I  felt  such  a  burning 
sensation  all  over  my  body ;  I  used  to  stand  in  the  waters 
of  the  Ganges,  with  my  body  immersed  up  to  the  shoulders 
and  a  wet  towel  over  my  head  all  through  the  day,  for  it 
was  insufferable.  Then  a  Brahman  lady  came  and  cured 
me  of  it  in  three  days.  She  smeared  my  body  with  sandal- 
wood  paste  and  put  garlands  on  my  neck,  and  the  pain 
vanished  in  three  days.' 

Now  this  Brahman  lady  was,  we  are  told,  an  extraordinary 
Bengali  woman.  She  was  versed  in  the  philosophies  and 
mythologies  of  India,  and  could  recite  book  after  book 
from  memory.  She  could  hold  her  ground  in  argument 
with  the  best  pandits  of  the  country.  Tall  and  graceful, 
she  combined  in  herself  all  the  physical  and  intellectual 
qualities  that  would  raise  any  man  or  woman  high  above 
ordinary  mortals.  She  had  a  fine  voice  and  was  well 
versed  in  music.  She  had  given  up  the  world,  practised 
Yoga  (ascetics),  attained  to  some  wonderful  Yogic  powers, 
and  was  roaming  all  over  India  in  the  red  garb  of  a 
Sawnyasin.  Nobody  knew  anything  of  her  birth  or  family 
or  name  even,  and  nobody  could  induce  her  to  say  any- 
thing about  them.  She  was  as  if  some  goddess  had  come 
to  this  earth  to  help  men  to  perfection,  moved  by  the 
sorrows  and  sins  of  this  wicked  world.  She  seemed  to 
have  known  full  well  that  she  was  destined  to  help  three 
particular  personages,  who  were  very  advanced  in  attaining 
perfection.  Ramakrzshwa  had  been  informed  by  his  divine 


44      THE  LIFE  AND  SAYINGS  OF  RAMAKK/SHtfA. 

mother  that  she  would  come  and  teach  him  the  certain 
way  to  attain  perfection.  He  recognised  her  at  once,  and 
she  recognised  him  and  said,  '  I  have  found  out  the  other 
two,  and  have  been  searching  for  thee  for  a  long,  long  time, 
and  to-day  I  have  found  thee.'  Up  to  this  time  Rama- 
kr*sh«a  had  not  found  a  single  soul  who  could  understand 
his  superhuman  devotion  and  perfect  purity,  and  the 
arrival  of  this  woman  was  therefore  a  great  relief  to  him. 
His  devotion  and  love  knew  no  bounds. 

All  people  were  astonished  at  the  wonderful  learning  of 
this  Brahman  lady,  but  they  could  not  understand  how  she 
could  sympathise  and  place  even  above  herself  this  half- 
crazed  Ramakr/sh«a  they  took  him  for.  To  prove  that  he 
was  not  mad,  the  lady  mentioned  some  Vaishwava  scriptures, 
got  the  manuscripts  from  some  learned  pandits,  and  quoted 
passage  after  passage,  showing  that  all  these  physical 
manifestations  come  to  an  ardent  lover  of  God.  It  was 
recorded  in  these  books  that  all  these  states  physical  and 
mental  did  happen  to  the  great  religious  reformer  of  Bengal, 
Sri  Chaitanya,  four  hundred  years  back,  and  the  remedies 
were  given,  too,  by  which  he  overcame  them.  For  instance, 
this  burning  sensation,  as  if  all  the  body  were  in  flames, 
from  which  .Sri  Ramakr*sh«a  was  suffering  at  the  time,  was 
mentioned  in  these  Vaish«ava  scriptures  as  having  happened 
to  the  shepherdess  of  Braja,  to  the  stainless  Sri  Radha,  the 
beloved  of  Krishna.,  centuries  before,  and  again  in  later 
times  to  Sri  Chaitanya,  when  both  of  them  felt  deeply  the 
pain  of  separation  from  their  beloved  (God).  In  both 
these  cases  relief  came  by  smearing  the  body  with  sandal- 


RAMAKK/SHtfA  S   LIFE.  45 

wood  paste  and  wearing  garlands  of  sweet-scented  flowers. 
The  lady  held  it  to  be  no  real  disease,  but  a  state  of  physical 
disturbance,  which  would  come  to  all  who  arrive  at  that 
stage  of  Bhakti,  or  love  of  God.  She  applied  the  same 
remedies  for  three  days,  and  the  trouble  passed  away. 

At  another  time  during  her  stay  he  suffered  much  from 
an  insatiable  appetite.  However  much  he  might  eat,  the 
appetite  was  there,  preying  upon  him  as  if  he  had  taken 
nothing.  The  Brahman  lady  assured  him  that  the  same 
had  happened  to  Chaitanya  and  other  Yogins,  and  ordered 
all  sorts  of  dishes  to  be  put  into  his  room  on  every  side, 
day  and  night.  This  practice  was  continued  for  a  few 
days,  and  the  sight  of  so  much  food  gradually  acted  upon 
the  mind,  and  the  false  sensation  passed  away. 

The  lady  lived  there  for  some  years,  and  made  her  friend 
practise  all  the  different  sorts  of  Yoga  which  make  a  man 
complete  master  of  his  body  and  mind,  render  his  passions 
subservient  to  his  reason,  and  produce  a  thorough  and 
deep  concentration  of  thought,  and,  above  all,  the  fearless 
and  unbiased  disposition  which  is  essential  to  everybody 
who  desires  to  know  the  truth  and  the  whole  truth. 

About  this  time  Ramakr/sh/za  began  to  practise  Yoga,  or 
the  physical  discipline,  which  makes  the  body  strong  and 
enduring.  He  began  by  regulating  his  breath,  and  went 
through  the  eight-fold  methods  prescribed  by  Pataw^ali. 
His  teachers  were  astonished  at  the  short  time  in  which  he 
came  to  the  realisation  and  attained  the  end  of  all  these 
ascetic  practices.  One  night,  when  he  was  practising  Yoga, 
he  was  very  much  frightened  at  two  strings  of  clotted  blood 


46      THE  LIFE  AND  SAYINGS  OF  RAMAK/J7SIUVA. 

coming  out  of  his  mouth.  The  temple  services  were  then 
in  the  hands  of  one  of  his  cousins,  Haladh&ri,  a  man  of 
great  learning  and  purity  and  possessed  of  certain  psychical 
powers,  such  asV&k-siddhi,  power  of  speech.  A  few  days 
before,  Ramakmh«a  had  offended  him  by  pointing  out  to 
him  certain  defects  of  his  character,  so  much  so  that  his 
cousin  cursed  him  and  said  that  blood  should  come  out  of 
his  mouth.  So  Ramakr/sh«a  was  frightened,  but  a  great 
Yogin  who  was  living  there  at  the  time  came  to  his  help, 
and  after  inquiring  into  his  case  assured  him  that  it  was 
very  good  that  the  blood  had  come  out  that  way.  It  was 
because  he  had  to  teach  many  men,  and  to  do  good  to  them, 
that  he  was  not  permitted  to  enter  into  that  Samadhi  (trance) 
from  which  nobody  returns.  He  explained  to  him  that 
when  a  man  has  attained  to  the  perfection  of  this  Yoga  his 
blood  rushes  to  his  brain,  and  he  becomes  absorbed  in 
Samadhi,  perceives  his  identity  with  the  Supreme  Self,  and 
never  returns  any  more  to  speak  of  his  religious  experiences 
to  others.  Only  a  few  returned,  namely,  those  who  by  the 
will  of  God  were  born  to  be  the  great  teachers  of  mankind. 
In  their  case  the  blood  rushes  to  the  brain,  and  they  feel 
the  identity  for  some  time,  but  after  that  the  blood  flows 
out  again  and  they  are  able  to  teach. 

By  this  time  Ramakr/shna  had  learnt  all  that  the 
Brahman  lady  could  teach,  but  he  was  still  hankering  after 
higher  truths,  when  a  GVzanin  (a  true  philosopher)  came 
and  initiated  him  into  the  truths  of  the  Vedanta.  This 
was  a  Sa#myasin  named  Tota-puri,  tall,  muscular,  and 
powerful.  He  had  taken  the  vow  of  the  order  from  his 


RAMAKK/SHtfA  S   LIFE.  47 

very  boyhood,  and  after  a  hard  struggle  had  succeeded  in 
realising  the  highest  truths  of  the  Vedanta.  He  wore  no 
clothes  whatever,  and  never  rested  under  a  roof.  When  the 
doors  of  palaces  might  have  been  opened  to  him  if  he  had 
only  wished,  he  passed  the  night  always  under  a  tree  or  the 
blue  canopy  of  the  heavens,  even  in  winter  and  in  the  rainy 
season,  never  remaining  more  than  three  days  in  any  place, 
and  never  caring  to  ask  for  food  from  anybody.  Free  as 
the  wind,  he  was  roaming  all  over  the  country,  teaching  and 
exhorting  wherever  he  could  find  a  sincere  soul,  and  helping 
them  to  attain  to  that  perfection  which  he  had  himself 
reached.  He  was  a  living  illustration  of  the  truth  that 
Vedanta,  when  properly  realised,  can  become  a  practical 
rule  of  life.  On  seeing  Sri  Ramakmhwa  sitting  on  the 
border  of  the  Ganges,  he  at  once  recognised  in  him  a  great 
Yogin  and  a  perfectly-prepared  ground  for  the  reception  of 
the  seeds  of  the  highest  truths  of  religion.  He  addressed 
him  at  once  and  said,  '  My  son '  do  you  want  to  learn  the 
way  to  perfect  freedom  ?  Come,  then,  and  I  will  teach  it  to 
you.'  Ramak/7sh«a,  who  never  did  anything  without  first 
asking  his  mother  (the  goddess  Kali),  said  that  he  did  not 
know  what  he  should  do,  but  he  would  go  and  ask  his 
mother.  He  came  back  in  a  few  minutes  and  told  the 
Sawnyasin  that  he  was  ready.  Tota-puri  made  him  take 
the  vow,  and  told  him  how  he  was  to  meditate  and  how  to 
realise  unity.  After  three  days  of  practice  he  attained 
to  the  highest,  the  Nirvikalpa  stage  of  Samadhi,  where 
there  is  no  longer  any  perception  of  the  subject  or  of  the 
object.  The  Sawnyasin  was  perfectly  bewildered  at  the 


48      THE  LIFE  AND  SAYINGS  OF  RAMAKR/SHtfA. 

rapid  progress  of  his  prote'ge',  and  said,  '  My  boy !  what 
I  realised  after  forty  years  of  hard  struggle,  you  have 
arrived  at  in  three  days.  I  dare  not  call  you  my  disciple ; 
henceforth  I  will  address  you  as  my  friend.'  And  such, 
was  the  love  of  this  holy  man  for  Sri  Ramakr/sh«a  that  he 
stayed  with  him  for  eleven  months,  and  in  his  turn  learnt 
many  things  from  his  own  disciple.  There  is  a  story  told 
of  the  Sawnyasin.  He  always  kept  a  fire  and  regarded  it 
as  very  holy.  One  day  as  he  was  sitting  by  this  fire  and 
talking  to  Sri  Ramakrrsh«a,  a  man  came  and  lighted  his 
pipe  out  of  the  same  fire.  The  Sa#myasin  felt  enraged  at 
this  sacrilege,  when  a  gentle  scolding  came  from  his  disciple, 
who  said,  '  Is  this  the  way  that  you  look  upon  everything  as 
Brahman  ?  Is  not  the  man  himself  Brahman  as  well  as  the 
fire?  What  is  high  and  what  is  low  in  the  sight  of  a 
Gnanin  ? '  The  Sawnyasin  was  brought  to  his  senses,  and 
said,  '  Brother,  you  are  right.  From  this  day  forth  you  shall 
never  find  me  angry  again,'  and  he  kept  his  word.  He 
could  never  understand,  however,  Ramakr/sh«a's  love  for 
his  Mother  (the  goddess  Kali).  He  would  talk  of  it  as 
mere  superstition,  and  ridicule  it,  when  Ramakrrsh«a 
made  him  understand  that  in  the  Absolute  there  is  no 
thou,  nor  I,  nor  God,  nay,  that  it  is  beyond  all  speech  or 
thought.  As  long,  however,  as  there  is  the  least  grain  of 
relativity  left,  the  Absolute  is  within  thought  and  speech 
and  within  the  limits  of  the  mind,  which  mind  is  sub- 
servient to  the  universal  mind  and  consciousness ;  and  this 
omniscient,  universal  consciousness  was  to  him  his  mother 
and  God. 


RAMAKfl/SHtfA  S   LIFE.  49 

After  the  departure  of  TotS-puri,  Ramakr/shwa  himself 
tried  to  remain  always  in  union  with  the  absolute  Brahman 
and  in  the  Nirvikalpa  state.  Looking  back  to  this  period 
of  his  life  in  his  later  days,  he  said,  '  I  remained  for  six 
months  in  that  state  of  perfect  union  which  people  seldom 
reach,  and  if  they  reach  it,  they  cannot  return  to  their 
individual  consciousness  again.  Their  bodies  and  minds 
could  never  bear  it.  But  this  my  body  is  made  up  of 
Sattwa  particles  (pure  elements)  and  can  bear  much  strain. 
In  those  days  I  was  quite  unconscious  of  the  outer  world. 
My  body  would  have  died  for  want  of  nourishment, 
but  for  a  Sadhu  (an  advanced  religious  ascetic)  who  came 
at  that  time  and  stayed  there  for  three  days  for  my  sake. 
He  recognised  my  state  of  Samadhi,  and  took  much  in- 
terest to  preserve  this  body,  while  I  was  unconscious  of  its 
very  existence.  He  used  to  bring  some  food  every  day,  and 
when  all  methods  failed  to  restore  sensation  or  conscious- 
ness to  this  body  of  mine,  he  would  even  strike  me  with 
a  heavy  club,  so  that  the  pain  might  bring  me  back  to  con- 
sciousness. Sometimes  he  succeeded  in  awakening  a  sort 
of  partial  consciousness  in  me,  and  he  would  immediately 
force  down  one  or  two  mouthfuls  of  food  before  I  was  lost 
again  in  deep  Samadhi.  Some  days  when  he  could  not 
produce  any  response,  even  after  a  severe  beating,  he  was 
very  sorrowful.'  After  six  months  the  body  gave  way  under 
these  severe  irregularities,  and  Ramakmh«a  was  laid  up 
with  dysentery.  This  disease,  he  said,  did  much  in  bringing 
him  back  to  consciousness,  slowly  and  gently,  in  a  month 
or  two.  When  the  native  physicians  had  cured  him,  his 

E 


50     THE  LIFE  AND  SAYINGS  OF  RAMAK/J/SHtfA. 

deep  religious  zeal  took  another  turn.  He  began  to  prac- 
tise and  realise  the  Vaish«ava  ideal  of  love  for  God  This 
love,  according  to  the  Vaishwavas,  becomes  manifested 
practically  in  any  one  of  the  following  relations — the  re- 
lation of  a  servant  to  his  master,  of  a  friend  to  his  friend, 
of  a  child  to  his  parents,  or  vice  versa,  and  a  wife  to  her 
husband.  The  highest  point  of  love  is  reached  when  the 
human  soul  can  love  his  God  as  a  wife  loves  her  husband. 
The  shepherdess  of  Braja  had  this  sort  of  love  towards 
the  divine  Krishna,  and  there  was  no  thought  of  any  carnal 
relationship.  No  man,  they  say,  can  understand  this  love 
of  »Sri  Radha  and  Sri  Krishna,  until  he  is  perfectly  free 
from  all  carnal  desires.  They  even  prohibit  ordinary  men 
to  read  the  books  which  treat  of  this  love  of  Radha  and 
Krishna,  because  they  are  still  under  the  sway  of  passion. 
Ramakr/sh«a,  in  order  to  realise  this  love,  dressed  himself 
in  women's  attire  for  several  days,  thought  of  himself  as 
a  woman,  and  at  last  succeeded  in  gaining  his  ideal.  He 
saw  the  beautiful  form  of  Sri  Krishna,  in  a  trance,  and  was 
satisfied.  After  having  thus  devoted  himself  to  Vaish- 
/zavism,  he  practised  in  turn  many  other  religions  prevalent 
in  India,  even  Mohammedanism,  always  arriving  at  an 
understanding  of  their  highest  purposes  in  an  incredibly 
short  time.  Whenever  he  wished  to  learn  and  practise  the 
doctrines  of  any  faith,  he  always  found  a  good  and  learned 
man  of  that  faith  coming  to  him  and  advising  him  how  to 
do  it.  This  is  one  out  of  many  wonderful  things  that 
happened  in  his  life.  They  may  be  explained  as  happy 
coincidences,  which  is  much  the  same  as  to  say  they  were 


RAMAKK/SHtfA  S   LIFE.  5! 

wonderful,  and  cannot  be  explained.  To  give  another  such 
instance.  At  the  time  when  he  perceived  the  desire  of 
practising  and  realising  religion,  he  was  sitting  one  day 
under  the  big  banyan-tree  (called  the  Pancha-vati,  or  the 
place  of  the  five  banyans)  to  the  north  of  the  temple.  He 
found  the  place  very  secluded  and  fit  for  carrying  out  his 
religious  practices  without  disturbance.  He  was  thinking 
of  building  a  little  thatched  hut  in  the  place,  when  the  tide 
came  up  the  river  and  brought  along  with  it  all  that  was 
necessary  to  make  a  little  hut — the  bamboos,  the  sticks,  the 
rope  and  all — and  dropped  them  just  a  few  yards  off  the 
place  where  he  was  sitting.  He  took  the  materials  joyfully, 
and  with  the  help  of  the  gardener  built  his  little  hut,  where 
he  practised  his  Yoga. 

In  his  later  days  he  was  thinking  of  practising  the  tenets 
of  Christianity.  He  had  seen  Jesus  in  a  vision,  and  for 
three  days  he  could  think  of  nothing  and  speak  of  nothing 
but  Jesus  and  His  love.  There  was  this  peculiarity  in  all 
his  visions — that  he  always  saw  them  outside  himself,  but 
when  they  vanished  they  seemed  to  have  entered  into  him. 
This  was  true  of  Rama,  of  .Siva,  of  Kali,  of  Kr/sh«a,  of 
Jesus,  and  of  every  other  god  or  goddess  or  prophet. 

After  all  these  visions  and  his  realisations  of  different 
religions  he  came  to  the  conclusion  that  all  religions  are 
true,  though  each  of  them  takes  account  of  one  aspect  only 
of  the  Akha«<fa  Sa^^idananda,  i.e.  the  undivided  and 
eternal  existence,  knowledge,  and  bliss.  Each  of  these 
different  religions  seemed  to  him  a  way  to  arrive  at  that 
One. 

£  2 


52      THE  LIFE  AND  SAYINGS  OF  RAMAKK/SHA7A. 

During  all  these  years  he  forgot  entirely  that  he  had 
been  married,  which  was  not  unnatural  for  one  who  had 
lost  all  idea  of  the  existence  even  of  his  own  body.  The 
girl  had  in  the  meantime  attained  the  age  of  seventeen  or 
eighteen.  She  had  heard  rumours  that  her  husband  had 
become  mad,  and  was  in  deep  grief.  Then  again  she  heard 
that  he  had  become  a  great  religious  man.  She  determined 
therefore  to  find  him  and  to  learn  her  fate  from  himself. 
Having  obtained  permission  from  her  mother,  she  walked 
all  the  way,  about  thirty  or  forty  miles,  to  the  Dakshi/rej- 
vara  temple.  Ramakr/sh«a  received  her  very  kindly,  but 
told  her  that  the  old  Ramakr/sh«a  was  dead,  and  that  the 
new  one  could  never  look  upon  any  woman  as  his  wife.  He 
said  that  even  then  he  saw  his  mother,  the  Goddess  Kali, 
in  her,  and  however  much  he  might  try  he  could  never  see 
anything  else.  He  addressed  her  as  his  mother,  worshipped 
her  with  flowers  and  incense,  asked  her  blessings,  as 
a  child  does  from  his  mother,  and  then  became  lost  in 
a  deep  trance.  The  wife,  who  was  fully  worthy  of  such 
a  hero,  told  him  she  wanted  nothing  from  him  as  her 
husband,  but  that  he  would  teach  her  how  to  realise  God, 
and  allow  her  to  remain  near  him  and  cook  his  meals  and 
do  what  little  she  could  for  his  health  and  comfort  From 
that  day  forward  she  lived  within  the  temple  compound, 
and  began  to  practise  whatever  her  husband  taught  her. 
Mathuranatha  offered  her  the  sum  of  10,000  Rs.,  but  she 
declined,  saying  that  her  husband  had  attained  perfection 
by  renouncing  gold  and  all  pleasures,  and  she  did  not  care 
for  any,  as  she  was  determined  to  follow  him.  She  is  living 


LIFE.  53 

still,  revered  by  all  for  her  purity  and  strength  of  character, 
helping  others  of  her  sex  to  religion  and  perfection,  looking 
upon  her  husband  as  an  incarnation  of  God  Himself,  and 
trying  to  forward  the  work  her  husband  began. 

Though  Ramakrz'sh«a  had  no  proper  education,  he  had 
such  a  wonderful  memory  that  he  never  forgot  what  he 
once  heard.  In  his  later  days  he  had  a  desire  to  hear  the 
Adhyatma  Ramaya«a,  and  he  requested  one  of  his  disciples 
to  read  it  to  him  in  the  original  verse.  As  he  was  hearing, 
another  of  his  disciples  came  and  asked  him  whether  he 
was  understanding  the  original  verses.  He  said  he  had 
heard  the  book  before,  with  an  explanation  of  it,  and  there- 
fore knew  all  of  it,  but  he  wanted  to  hear  it  again  because 
the  book  was  so  beautiful,  and  he  repeated  at  once  the 
purport  of  some  of  the  verses  which  followed,  and  which 
were  about  to  be  read. 

He  had  attained  to  great  Yoga  powers,  but  he  never 
cared  to  display  these  marvellous  powers  to  anybody.  He 
told  his  disciples  that  all  these  powers  would  come  to 
a  man  as  he  advanced,  but  he  warned  them  never  to  take 
any  heed  of  the  opinions  of  men.  They  had  not  to  please 
men,  but  to  try  to  attain  the  highest  perfection,  that  is, 
unity  with  Brahman.  The  power  of  working  miracles  was 
rather  a  hindrance  in  the  way  to  perfection,  inasmuch  as 
it  diverted  the  attention  of  man  from  his  highest  goal. 
But  persons  who  went  to  him  have  found  abundant  proofs 
of  his  possessing  such  powers  as  thought-reading,  predict- 
ing future  events,  seeing  things  at  a  distance,  and  healing 
a  disease  by  simply  willing.  The  one  great  power  of 


54     THE  LIFE  AND  SAYINGS  OF  RAMAKK7SHtfA. 

which  he  made  most  use,  and  which  was  by  far  the  most 
wonderful,  was  that  he  was  able  to  change  a  man's  thoughts 
by  simply  touching  his  body.  In  some  this  touch  produced 
immediate  Samadhi,  in  which  they  saw  visions  of  gods  and 
goddesses,  and  lost  for  some  hours  all  sensation  of  the  out- 
ward world.  In  others  it  produced  no  outward  changes, 
but  they  felt  that  their  thoughts  had  received  a  new  direc- 
tion and  a  new  impetus,  by  which  they  could  easily  travel  in 
the  path  of  progress  in  religion.  The  carnally  minded,  for 
instance,  would  feel  that  their  thoughts  never  ran  after 
carnal  pleasures  afterwards,  the  miser  would  find  that  he 
did  not  love  his  gold,  and  so  on. 

About  that  time  Mathuranatha  and  his  family  went  on 
a  pilgrimage,  and  took  Ramakr?sh«a  with  them.  They 
visited  all  the  sacred  places  of  the  Hindus  as  far  as  En'n- 
dabana,  and  Ramaknsh#a  took  the  opportunity  not  only 
of  seeing  the  temples,  but  of  forming  acquaintances  with 
all  the  religious  men,  and  with  the  Samnyasins  who 
were  living  in  these  places,  such  as  the  famous  Tailanga 
Swamin  of  Benares  and  Ganga  Mata  of  Br/ndabana.  These 
Sadhus  assigned  to  him  a  very  high  position,  and  regarded 
him  not  only  as  a  Brahma^anin,  but  as  a  great  religious 
teacher  (Acharya),  nay,  as  an  incarnation  of  God  Himself. 
At  Brmdabana  he  was  so  much  struck  by  the  natural 
scenery  and  associations  of  the  place,  that  he  nearly  made 
up  his  mind  to  reside  there  for  ever.  But  the  memory  of 
his  old  mother  made  him  return  home.  On  his  way  back 
he  was  so  much  struck  by  the  poverty  of  a  village  near 
Vaidyanath,  that  he  wept  bitterly,  and  would  not  go  from 


RAMAKK7SHNA  S   LIFE.  55 

the  place  without  seeing  them  happy.  So  Mathuranatha 
fed  the  whole  village  for  several  days,  gave  proper  clothing 
and  some  money  to  each  of  the  villagers,  and  departed 
with  Ramakr/shwa  contented. 

'When  the  rose  is  blown,  and  sheds  its  fragrance  all 
around,  the  bees  come  of  themselves.  The  bees  seek  the 
full-blown  rose,  and  not  the  rose  the  bees.'  This  saying  of 
Sri  Ramakr/shtta  has  been  verified  often  and  often  in  his 
own  life.  Numbers  of  earnest  men,  of  all  sects  and  creeds, 
began  to  flock  to  him  to  receive  instruction  and  to  drink 
the  waters  of  life.  From  day-dawn  to  night-fall  he  had 
no  leisure  to  eat  or  drink,  so  engaged  was  he  in  teaching, 
exhorting,  and  ministering  to  the  wants  of  these  hungry 
and  thirsty  millions.  Men  possessed  of  wonderful  Yoga 
powers  and  great  learning  came  to  learn  from  this  illiterate 
Paramaha/wsa  of  Dakshiwe^vara,  and  in  their  turn  ac- 
knowledged him  as  their  spiritual  director  (Guru),  touched 
as  they  were  by  the  wonderful  purity,  the  childlike  sim- 
plicity, the  perfect  unselfishness,  and  by  the  simple  language 
in  which  he  propounded  the  highest  truths  of  religion  and 
philosophy.  But  the  people  of  Calcutta  knew  him  not 
till  Babu  Keshub  Chunder  Sen  went  to  him  and  wrote 
about  him.  Ramakr/sh«a's  interview  with  Keshub  was 
brought  about  in  this  way.  It  was  in  the  year  1866  that 
Keshub  was  leading  a  life  of  prayer  and  seclusion  in  a 
garden  house  at  Belgharia,  about  two  miles  from  the 
temple  of  Dakshiwexvara.  Ramakr;sh«a  heard  of  him,  and 
went  to  see  him.  Keshub  was  so  much  impressed  with 
the  simple  words,  full  of  the  highest  knowledge,  the 


56     THE  LIFE  AND  SAVINGS  OF  RAMAKJUSHtfA. 

wonderful  love  of  God,  and  the  deep  trances  of  Sri  Rima- 
krzshxa,  that  he  began  to  come  often  and  often  to  him. 
He  would  sit  for  hours  at  the  feet  of  Ramakrrsh*a  and 
listen  with  rapture  to  the  wonderful  sayings  on  religion 
of  that  wonderful  man.  From  time  to  time  Ramaknsh*a 
would  be  lost  in  a  deep  Sama'dhi,  and  Keshub  would 
gentry  touch  his  feet  that  he  might  thereby  be  purified. 
Sometimes  he  would  invite  the  Paramahamsa  to  his  house, 
or  would  take  him  in  a  boat  and  proceed  a  few  miles 
up  and  down  the  river.  He  then  used  to  question  him 
on  some  points  of  religion  to  clear  away  his  own  doubts. 
A  strong  and  deep  love  grew  up  between  the  two,  and 
Keshub's  whole  life  became  changed,  till,  a  few  years 
later,  he  proclaimed  his  views  of  religion  as  the  New 
Dispensation,  which  was  nothing  but  a  partial  representa- 
tion of  the  truths  which  Rimakrshxa  had  taught  for 
a  long  time. 

A  brief  sketch  of  the  teachings  of  Ramakmhxa,  and 
a  few  of  his  sayings,  which  Keshub  published,  were  suffi- 
cient to  rouse  a  wide  interest  in  the  Paramahajwsa,  and 
numbers  of  highly-educated  men  of  Calcutta  and  women 
of  noble  family  began  to  pour  in  to  receive  instruction 
from  this  wonderful  Yogin.  Ramakrrshxa  began  to  teach 
th^m  «mj  talt  to  them  from  morn  till  evening.  At  night, 
too,  he  had  no  rest,  for  some  of  the  more  earnest  would 
remain  and  spend  the  night  with  him.  He  then  forgot 
his  sleep,  and  talked  to  them  incessantly  about  Bhakti 
(devotion)  or  £«ana  (knowledge)  and  his  own  experiences, 
and  how  he  arrived  at  them.  Though  this  incessant  labour 


RAMAKRISHNA  S   LIFE.  57 

began  at  last  to  tell  upon  him,  yet  he  would  not  rest.  In 
the  meanwhile  the  crowds  of  men  and  women  began  to 
increase  daily,  and  he  went  on  as  before.  When  pressed 
to  take  rest,  he  would  say,  '  I  would  suffer  willingly  all 
sorts  of  bodily  pains,  and  death  also,  a  hundred  thousand 
times,  if  by  so  doing  I  could  bring  one  single  soul  to 
freedom  and  salvation.' 

In  the  beginning  of  1885  he  suffered  from  what  is  known 
as  'the  clergyman's  throat/  which  by-and-by  developed 
into  cancer.  He  was  removed  to  Calcutta,  and  the  best 
physicians  were  engaged,  such  as  Babu  Mohindra  Lai 
Sircar,  &c.,  who  advised  him  to  keep  the  strictest  silence ; 
but  the  advice  was  to  no  effect.  Crowds  of  men  and 
women  gathered  wherever  he  went,  and  waited  patiently 
to  hear  a  single  word  from  his  mouth,  and  he,  out  of  com- 
passion for  them,  would  not  remain  silent.  Many  a  time 
he  would  be  lost  in  a  Samadhi,  losing  all  consciousness 
of  his  body  and  of  his  disease,  and  coming  back  he  would 
talk  incessantly  as  before.  Even  when  the  passage  of  his 
throat  became  so  constricted  that  he  could  not  swallow 
even  liquid  food,  he  would  never  stop  his  efforts.  He  was 
undaunted  and  remained  as  cheerful  as  ever,  till  on  August 
1 6,  1886,  at  10  o'clock  in  the  night,  he  entered  into 
Samadhi,  from  which  he  never  returned.  His  disciples 
took  it  at  first  to  be  an  ordinary  Samadhi,  such  as  he 
used  to  have  every  day,  during  which  the  best  doctors 
even  could  not  find  any  pulsation  or  beating  of  the  heart ; 
but,  alas,  they  were  mistaken. 

Ramak?vsh«a  felt  such  an  aversion  to  gold  and  silver 


58     THE  LIFE  AND  SAYINGS  OF  RAMAKK/SHJVA. 

that  he  could  not  even  touch  them,  and  a  simple  touch, 
even  when  he  was  asleep,  would  produce  physical  con- 
tortions. His  breath  would  stop,  and  his  fingers  would 
become  contorted  and  paralysed  for  a  few  minutes,  even 
when  the  metal  had  been  removed.  In  his  later  days  he 
could  touch  no  metals,  not  even  iron. 

He  was  a  wonderful  mixture  of  God  and  man.  In  his 
ordinary  state  he  would  talk  of  himself  as  servant  of  all 
men  and  women.  He  looked  upon  them  all  as  God.  He 
himself  would  never  be  addressed  as  Guru,  or  teacher. 
Never  would  he  claim  for  himself  any  high  position.  He 
would  touch  the  ground  reverently  where  his  disciples  had 
trodden.  But  every  now  and  then  strange  fits  of  God- 
consciousness  came  upon  him.  He  then  became  changed 
into  a  different  being  altogether.  He  then  spoke  of  himself 
as  being  able  to  do  and  know  everything.  He  spoke  as 
if  he  had  the  power  of  giving  anything  to  anybody.  He 
would  speak  of  himself  as  the  same  soul  that  had  been 
born  before  as  Rama,  as  Krishna,  as  Jesus,  or  as  Buddha, 
born  again  as  Ramakr/srwa.  He  told  Mathuranatha,  long 
before  anybody  knew  him,  that  he  had  many  disciples  who 
would  come  to  him  shortly,  and  he  knew  all  of  them.  He 
said  that  he  was  free  from  all  eternity,  and  the  practices 
and  struggles  after  religion  which  he  went  through  were 
only  meant  to  show  the  people  the  way  to  salvation.  He 
had  done  all  for  them  alone.  He  would  say  he  was  a 
Nitya-mukta,  or  eternally  free,  and  an  incarnation  of  God 
Himself.  '  The  fruit  of  the  pumpkin,'  he  said,  '  comes  out 
first,  and  then  the  flowers  ;  so  it  is  with  the  Nitya-muktas, 


REMARKS    ON    RAMAK/27SHJVA  S   LIFE.  59 

or  those  who  are  free  from  all  eternity,  but  come  down 
for  the  good  of  others.' 

During  the  state  of  Samadhi  he  was  totally  unconscious 
of  himself  and  of  the  outward  world.  At  one  time  he 
fell  down  upon  a  piece  of  live  coal  during  this  state.  It 
burned  deep  into  his  flesh,  but  he  did  not  know  for  hours, 
and  the  surgeon  had  to  come  in  to  extract  the  coal,  when 
he  came  back  to  consciousness,  and  felt  the  wound. 

At  another  time  his  foot  slipped,  and  he  broke  his  hand. 
The  surgeon  came  and  bound  it  up  and  advised  him  not 
to  use  it  till  it  was  quite  cured.  But  it  was  impossible. 
As  soon  as  anybody  spoke  anything  of  religion  or  on  God, 
he  went  straight  into  the  state  of  Samadhi,  and  his  hands 
became  straight  and  stiff,  and  the  injured  hand  had  to  be 
bound  up  again.  This  went  on  for  months,  and  it  took 
six  months  or  more  to  cure  that  simple  fracture. 

Mathuranatha  proposed  again  and  again  to  hand  over 
to  him  the  temple  of  Dakshiwe^vara  and  a  property  yielding 
an  income  of  25,000  Rs.  a  year,  but  he  declined  the  pro- 
posal, and  added  that  he  would  have  to  fly  away  from  the 
place  if  Mathuranatha  pressed  his  gift  upon  him.  At 
another  time  another  gentleman  made  an  offer  of  some 
25,000  Rs.  to  him,  with  the  same  result. 

Kemarks  on  Rftmakr/sh«a's  Life. 

This  is  all  that  Vivekananda  sent  me  when  I  had  asked 
him  to  write  down  whatever  he  could  gather  from  his  own 
memory  and  from  communication  with  Ramaknsh«a's  other 
disciples.  I  had  warned  him  repeatedly  not  to  send  me 


6O     THE  LIFE  AND  SAYINGS  OF  RAMAKR/SHtfA. 

mere  fables,  such  as  I  had  read  about  his  Guru  in  several 
Indian  periodicals,  and  I  believe  he  fully  understood  what 
I  meant.  Yet  we  can  hardly  fail  to  see  the  first  beginnings 
of  the  ravages  which  the  Dialogic  Process  works  even  in  the 
first  generation.  Given  his  own  veneration  for  his  departed 
master,  there  is  a  natural  unwillingness,  nay,  an  incapability, 
to  believe  or  to  repeat  anything  that  might  place  his  master 
in  an  unfavourable  light.  Besides,  his  master  was  dead  when 
these  records  were  written,  and  the  de  mortuis  nihil  nisi 
bonum  is  deeply  engraved  in  every  human  heart.  WJiat  is 
believed  and  told  by  everybody  in  a  small  village,  chiefly  by 
his  friends  and  admirers,  is  not  likely  to  be  contradicted ; 
and  if  once  a  man  is  looked  upon  as  different  from  others,  as 
possessed  of  superhuman  and  miraculous  powers,  everybody 
has  something  new  to  add  in  confirmation  of  what  everybody 
is  ready  to  believe,  while  a  doubt  or  a  denial  is  treated  as 
a  sign  of  unkindness,  possibly  of  envy  or  malice.  The  story, 
for  instance,  of  the  Brahman  lady  who  was  sent  as  a 
messenger  and  teacher  to  Ramakrrsh«a,  will  sound  to  us 
far  from  probable.  But  when  I  first  heard  of  it,  this  lady 
was  represented  as  a  kind  of  goddess  who  met  her  pupil  in 
a  forest  and  instructed  him,  like  another  Sarasvati,  in  all 
the  Vedas,  Purawas,  and  philosophies.  The  difficulty  that 
had  to  be  solved  by  this  heavenly  apparition  was,  no  doubt, 
the  fact  that  Ramakr/sh«a  had  never  received  a  proper 
classical  education,  and  yet  spoke  with  authority  about  the 
ancient  literature  and  religion  of  his  countrymen.  The 
fact  that  he  was  ignorant  of  Sanskrit,  nay,  that  he  did  not 
know  a  single  word  of  the  sacred  language  of  India,  is 


MOZOOMDAR'S  JUDGEMENT,  61 

denied  by  nobody,  and  has  been  distinctly  asserted  by  one 
of  his  great  admirers,  the  Rev.  P.  C.  Mozoomdar.  Of 
course  he  knew  Bengali,  and  a  man  who  speaks  Bengali 
can  guess  the  meaning  of  Sanskrit  as  an  Italian  may  guess 
the  meaning  of  Latin.  Some  of  the  classical  Sanskrit  texts 
exist  in  Bengali  translations,  and  may  have  given  him  all 
the  information  which  he  wanted  for  his  own  purposes,  to 
say  nothing  of  his  constant  intercourse  with  learned  men 
who  would  have  warned  him  against  mistakes  and  answered 
any  question  he  chose  to  ask.  Thus  the  Dea  ex  machina 
was  really  not  wanted.  If  this  Brahman  lady  was  called  a 
goddess,  we  must  remember  that  Devi  is  not  much  more 
than  a  title  of  honour  given  to  high-born  and  illustrious 
ladies,  nay,  that  an  exceptionally  well-informed  and  en- 
lightened lady  might  well  have  been  spoken  of  as  an 
incarnation  of  the  goddess  Sarasvati.  In  India  the  distance 
between  deity  and  humanity  is  very  small ;  gods  are  believed 
to  become  men,  and  men  gods,  without  much  ado  about  it. 

Mozoomdar's  Judgement. 

Fortunately  in  our  case  we  have  the  testimony  not  only 
of  Vivekananda,  who,  as  a  devoted  disciple  of  Ramakr?'sh«a, 
might  be  suspected  of  partiality,  but  we  have  several  inde- 
pendent witnesses,  some  favourable,  others  unfavourable. 
Mozoomdar  must  be  counted  as  a  favourable  witness.  He 
stands  aloof  from  the  propaganda  carried  on  by  Ramalcrr'sh«a's 
disciples,  but  he  speaks  of  him  in  the  highest  terms.  In 
a  letter  which  he  addressed  to  me  in  September,  1895,  he 
wrote  :  '  Both  in  Keshub's  Life  and  Teachings,  and  in  the 


62     THE  LIFE  AND  SAYINGS  OF  RAMAKR/SHtfA. 

old  Theistic  Review,  I  have  frankly  and  warmly  expressed 
my  estimate  of  that  saintly  man  and  our  obligations  to  him. 
But  there  was  another  side  of  his  character,  which  of  course 
one  could  not  take  up,  because  it  was  not  edifying.'  Here 
we  see  another  ingredient  of  the  Dialogic  Process. 

Ramakr/sh/m's  Language. 

'  His  speech  at  times  was  abominably  filthy.  For  all  that, 
he  was,  as  you  say,  a  real  Mahatman,  and  I  would  not  with- 
draw a  single  word  I  wrote  in  his  praise.  Ramakr/shna  was 
not  in  the  least  a  Vedantist,  except  that  every  Hindu  uncon- 
sciously imbibes  from  the  atmosphere  around  some  amount 
of  Vedantism,  which  is  the  philosophical  backbone  of  every 
national  cult  He  did  not  know  a  word  of  Sanskrit,  and 
it  is  doubtful  whether  he  knew  enough  Bengali.  His 
spiritual  wisdom  was  the  result  of  genius  and  practical 
observation.' 

There  is  a  ring  of  truth  and  impartiality  about  this,  and 
there  is  no  sign  of  jealousy,  which  often  breaks  out,  even 
in  India,  among  religious  reformers  and  their  followers. 
As  to  his  filthy  language,  we  must  be  prepared  for  much 
plain  speaking  among  Oriental  races.  In  a  country  where 
certain  classes  of  men  are  allowed  to  walk  about  in  public 
places  stark  naked,  language  too  is  not  likely  to  veil  what 
with  us  requires  to  be  veiled.  There  is,  however,  a  great 
difference  between  what  is  filthy  and  what  is  meant  to  be 
filthy.  I  doubt  whether  the  charge  of  intentional  filthiness 
or  obscenity,  which  has  been  brought  against  writers  like 
Zola,  could  be  brought,  or  has  ever  been  brought,  against 


RAMAK/tfSHtfA  S   LANGUAGE.  63 

Ramakr/sh«a.  It  is  quite  true  that  Hindus  who  belong 
socially  to  the  higher  classes,  though  not  necessarily  Brahmans 
by  birth,  would  be  more  careful  in  their  expressions.  We 
seldom  find  any  blemishes  of  that  kind  in  the  writings  of 
Rammohun  Roy,  Keshub  Chunder  Sen,  and  their  friends. 
But  a  certain  directness  of  speech  which  would  be  most 
offensive  in  England  is  evidently  not  regarded  in  that  light 
in  India,  and  every  scholar  knows  that  many  of  their  classical 
poems,  nay,  even  their  Sacred  Writings,  contain  passages 
which  simply  do  not  admit  of  translation  into  English.  In 
the  three  centuries  (^ataka)  of  Bhartn'hari,  treating  of  worldly 
wisdom,  love,  and  passionlessness,  the  second,  that  of  love, 
has  generally  been  left  out  in  English  translations.  But 
the  spirit  of  that  Srimga.ra.-Sata.ka.  is  by  no  means  the  same 
as  that  of  Zola's  novels.  On  the  contrary,  the  object  of 
the  poet  is  to  warn  people  against  voluptuousness,  not 
as  something  in  itself  criminal,  which  has  never  been  an 
Indian  view,  but  as  a  hindrance  in  obtaining  that  serenity 
of  mind  without  which  the  highest  objects  of  life,  dis- 
passionateness, serenity,  and  clear-sightedness  can  never 
be  obtained.  A  most  useful  edition  of  all  the  three  »Satakas 
has  lately  been  published  by  Purohit  Gopi  Nath,  M.A., 
Bombay,  1896. 

It  should  not  be  forgotten  that  in  Homer,  in  Shakespeare, 
nay,  even  in  the  Bible,  there  are  passages  against  which  our 
modern  taste  revolts,  yet  we  object  to  Bowdlerised  editions, 
because  the  indecencies  are  never  of  an  intentional  cha- 
racter, and  would  seem  to  have  been  so,  if  they  were  now 
removed  by  us. 


64     THE  LIFE  AND  SAYINGS  OF  RAMAKJZ/SHtfA. 

Ramakrr'shxa's  Wife. 

Another  charge  which  Mozoomdar  seems  to  consider  as 
proved  against  Ramaknsrma  is  what  he  calls  his  almost 
barbarous  treatment  of  his  wife.  What  he  means  is  evi- 
dently that  he  forgot  or  neglected  her  till  she  was  seventeen 
years  of  age.  But  this  can  hardly  be  called  barbarous  in 
India,  where  it  is  a  recognised  custom  that  a  girl  of  five  years 
of  age,  as  his  wife  was  when  he  married  her,  should  remain 
at  her  parents'  house  for  years  before  she  migrated  to  the 
house  of  her  husband  and  his  parents.  And  that  a  man 
in  a  state  such  as  Ramakr;'sh«a  is  described  to  have  been  in 
should  decline  to  live  maritalement,  is  again  by  no  means 
unusual  in  Eastern,  nay,  in  Western  countries  also. 

Vivekananda  told  us  that  when  at  the  age  of  seventeen 
his  wife  went  to  find  him,  he  received  her  with  real  kind- 
ness, and  that  she  was  quite  satisfied  to  live  with  him 
on  his  own  terms,  if  he  would  only  enlighten  her  mind  and 
make  her  to  see  and  to  serve  God.  Such  a  relationship  is 
by  no  means  without  a  precedent,  and  cannot  be  called 
barbarous,  for  volenti  non  Jit  injuria.  Strange  to  say,  I 
received  not  many  days  ago  a  letter  from  an  American  lady 
who  had  gone  to  visit  Ramak«'sh«a's  widow,  Mrs.  S.  C. 
Ole  Bull,  the  widow  of  the  famous  violin  player,  and 
deeply  interested  in  the  religious  movements  in  India. 
On  July  n,  1898,  she  writes  from  Srinagar  in  Kashmir: 
'We  were  the  first  foreigners  who  were  allowed  to  see 
Sarada-devi,  the  widow  of  Ramakrish«a.  She  called  us 
her  children,  and  saying  that  our  visit  to  her  was  of  the 


RAMAKK/SHJVA'S  WIFE.  65 

Lord,  she  felt  no  strangeness  in  being  with  us.  When 
asked  to  define  the  obedience  to  a  Guru,  who  in  her  case 
was  her  husband,  she  replied  to  the  effect  that  when  one 
had  chosen  a  Guru  or  teacher,  one  should  listen  to  and 
obey  all  his  directions  for  spiritual  advancement,  but  in 
things  temporal  one  could  most  truly  serve  a  Guru  by 
using  one's  own  best  discernment,  even  if  at  times  it  were 
not  in  agreement  with  suggestions  given. 

'When  she  gladly  gave  her  husband,  to  whom  she  had 
been  united  by  child-marriage,  her  assent  that  he  should 
lead  a  Sawnyasin's  life,  she  gained  his  intimate  friendship, 
and  became  his  disciple,  receiving  daily  instruction.  During 
the  years  of  her  life  with  him  she  was  his  adviser,  praying 
earnestly  for  such  purity  of  motive  that  she  might  never 
fail  him.  She  had  also  taken  the  vow  of  poverty  and 
chastity,  and  in  renouncing  the  natural  joys  of  a  mother, 
she  became  with  him  the  spiritual  parent  of  many  children.' 

It  is  strange  that  a  man  of  Mozoomdar's  knowledge  and 
experience  should  have  considered  the  resolve  of  Rama- 
kr/sh«a's  wife  to  live  with  him  as  a  Sa#myasini  as  bar- 
barous treatment.  She  herself  evidently  did  not  think  so, 
nor  have  I  heard  of  any  other  cruelties  on  the  part  of  her 
husband.  If  she  was  satisfied  with  her  life,  who  has  any 
right  to  complain ;  and  is  love  between  husband  and  wife 
really  impossible  without  the  procreation  of  children  ?  We 
must  learn  to  believe  in  Hindu  honesty,  however  incredulous 
we  might  justly  be  on  such  matters  in  our  own  country. 
Anyhow,  I  know  of  no  one  else  who  has  taken  offence 
at  Ramak/Ysh«a's  spiritual  marriage. 

F 


66      THE  LIFE  AND  SAYINGS  OF  RAMAK/J/SH.VA. 

BAmakrnhxa's  Influence  on  Keshub  Chonder  Sen. 

A  more  painful  misunderstanding  has  arisen  with  regard 
to  the  exact  relationship  between  Ramakrfshna  and  Keshub 
Chunder  Sen.  A  disciple  may  mean  many  things,  but 
Keshub  Chunder  Sen  was  never  chary  in  giving  credit 
where  credit  was  due,  and  he  was  the  last  man  to  withhold 
the  name  of  master  and  teacher  from  Ramakrxshna  or  any 
one  else  from  whom  he  had  received  inspiration,  encourage- 
ment, or  instruction.  'Whoever  he  may  be,'  he  writes, 
'  I  desire  to  learn  from  him.  If  I  see  an  ordinary  minstrel, 
I  love  to  learn  at  his  feet  If  an  ascetic  comes,  I  consider 
that  a  lac  of  rupees  has  come  to  my  house.  I  learn  much 
by  hearing  his  hymns —  .1  can  clearly  perceive  that  when- 
ever a  saint  takes  leave  of  me  he  pours  into  my  heart  his 
virtues.  To  some  extent  I  become  like  him — /  am  a  bom 
disciple?  On  the  other  hand,  no  one  repudiated  the  title  of 
Master  or  Guru  more  emphatically  than  Ramakrxshna.  A 
relative  of  Keshub  Chunder  Sen,  however,  who  evidently 
completely  misapprehended  what  was  implied  by  the  influence 
which  I  said  that  Ramakrrsh*a  had  exercised  on  Keshub 
Chunder  Sen,  Mozoomdar,  and  others  as  his  disciples,  is 
very  anxious  to  establish  the  priority  of  Keshub  Chunder 
Sen,  as  if  there  could  be  priority  in  philosophical  or  religious 
truth.  '  It  was  Keshub  Chunder,'  he  tells  us,  '  who  brought 
Rimakrzshxa  out  of  obscurity.'  That  may  be  so,  but  how 
often  have  disciples  been  instrumental  in  bringing  out  their 
master?  He  then  continues  to  bring  charges  against 
Rimakrzshxa,  which  may  be  true  or  not,  but  have  nothing 


RAMAKK/SHATA'S  INFLUENCE.  67 

to  do  with  the  true  relation  between  Keshub  and  Rama- 
krishna.  If,  as  we  are  told,  he  did  not  show  sufficient 
moral  abhorrence  of  prostitutes,  he  does  not  stand  quite 
alone  in  this  among  the  founders  of  religion.  If  he  did  not 
'  honour  the  principle  of  teetotalism  according  to  Western 
notions,'  no  one,  as  far  as  I  know,  has  ever  accused  him  of 
any  excess  in  drinking.  Such  bickerings  and  cavillings 
would  have  been  most  distasteful  both  to  Keshub  Chunder 
Sen  and  to  Ramaknsh«a.  Both  had  no  words  but  words 
of  praise  and  love  for  each  other,  and  it  was  a  great  pity  that 
their  mutual  relation  should  have  been  treated  in  a  jealous 
spirit,  and  thereby  totally  misrepresented.  I  can  under- 
stand that  in  India,  where  the  relation  between  Guru  and 
.Slshya  is  a  very  peculiar  and  very  definite  one,  one  of  Keshub 
Chunder  Sen's  relatives  should  have  objected  to  Rama- 
kr/shwa  being  represented  as  the  Guru  of  Keshub.  Keshub 
had  no  real  Guru,  nor  was  he  a  Brahman  by  birth  like 
Ramaknsh«a.  But  that  he  learnt  from  Ramakn'shwa  he,  as 
well  as  Mozoomdar,  has  repeatedly  admitted.  As  to  myself, 
I  can  only  say  that  Keshub  Chunder  Sen's  memory  is  quite 
safe  in  my  hands,  perhaps  safer  than  in  those  of  his  rela- 
tives. I  stood  up  for  him  when  his  nearest  friends  forsook 
him  and  turned  against  him.  If  my  words  could  possibly 
have  been  misunderstood  in  India,  I  gladly  state  that  neither 
did  Ramak«'sh»a  act  as  Guru  or  Keshub  Chunder  Sen  as 
•Sishya.  The  only  thing  that  interested  me  was  whether 
the  influence  exercised  by  the  former  on  the  latter  might 
possibly  account  for  certain,  as  yet  unexplained,  phases  in 
the  later  spiritual  development  of  Keshub  Chunder  Sen. 

F  2 


68      THE  LIFE  AND  SAYINGS  OF  RAMAK/2/SHJVA. 

It  would  be  a  real  help  in  judging  of  Keshub  Chunder  Sen 
if  we  knew  that — to  quote  the  words  of  Mozoomdar — '  his 
association  with  Ramakrzsh«a  developed  the  conception 
of  the  Motherhood  of  God';  or,  again,  that  'the  strange 
selectivism  of  Ramakrrshwa  suggested  to  Keshub's  appre- 
ciative mind  the  thought  of  broadening  the  spiritual  struc- 
ture of  his  own  movement.'  Whether  toward  the  end  of 
his  life  Keshub  became  mystic  and  ecstatic  in  his  utter- 
ances, and  whether  his  concept  of  the  Godhead  as  the 
Divine  Mother  was  inspired  by  Ramakr/sh«a,  I  gladly  leave 
to  others  to  decide.  By  whatever  terms  these  words  mystic 
and  ecstatic  may  be,  if  translated  into  Bengali,  in  English 
they  mean  exactly  that  spirit  which  pervades  many  of  the 
utterances  of  the  so-called  New  Dispensation,  and  which 
was  so  severely,  and  far  too  severely,  animadverted  on  by 
many  of  Keshub's  European  admirers.  Mystic  has  no  such 
terrible  meaning  in  English  as  its  corresponding  term 
seems  to  have  in  Bengali.  People  always  seem  to  imagine 
that  mystic  has  something  to  do  with  mist.  Thus  the  late 
B.  R.  Rajam  Iyer  wrote  in  the  Prabuddha  Bharata,  p.  123 : 
'  The  Vedanta  will  certainly  be  mysticism  if  it  seek  to  make 
a  man  live  without  food,  enable  him  to  preserve  his  life  as 
long  as  he  pleases,  or  get  stiff  like  a  corpse,  dead  entirely 
to  the  world,  though  an  obscure  spark  of  life  may  yet  linger 
in  the  system.  The  Vedanta  will  be  mysticism  if  it  seek 
to  enable  man  to  work  wonderful  feats,  as  flying  in  the  air, 
leaving  the  body  at  will,  and  wandering  in  space  unob- 
structed like  a  ghost,  or  entering  into  the  bodies  of  others, 
and  possessing  them  like  spirits,  and  doing  similar  things 


VEDANTA-PHILOSOPHY.  69 

of  an  unnatural  character.  The  Vedanta  will  certainly  be 
mysticism  if  it  seek  to  make  a  man  read  the  thoughts  of 
others,  and  lay  him  in  an  eternal  trance,  when  he  would  be 
more  dead  than  alive,  both  with  reference  to  himself  and  to 
others.'  I  quote  these  words  partly  to  show  the  misapplica- 
tion of  the  term  mysticism,  for  all  this  should  not  be  called 
mysticism,  but  fraud  and  jugglery  ;  and  partly  to  show  what 
the  Vedanta  is  not,  and  certainly  never  was,  in  the  eyes  of 
Keshub  Ch  under  Sen  or  Ramakrfstma.  It  was  in  order  to 
express  my  conviction  that  some  later  phases  in  Keshub's 
so-called  New  Dispensation  were  not  essential  to  his  simple 
original  teaching,  that  I  tried  to  trace  them  back  to  their 
different  sources.  If  some  of  Ramakrzshwa's  followers  have 
made  capital  out  of  these  remarks,  surely  such  local  jealousies 
and  backbitings  may  safely  be  ignored.  An  honest  under- 
standing between  East  and  West,  which  was  one  of  Keshub's 
highest  ideals,  cannot  be  furthered  by  the  somewhat  childish 
misunderstandings  of  Keshub's  self-constituted  advocates. 
Keshub  himself  would  have  been  the  last  person  to  approve 
of  the  spirit  that  pervades  his  friend's  passionate,  though, 
I  trust,  well-intentioned  advocacy. 

Vedanta-philosophy. 

If  now  we  return  to  Ramakr/sh«a,  I  can  assure  Keshub's 
zealous  advocate  that  I  never  looked  upon  Ramaknshna 
as  the  originator  of  the  Vedanta-philosophy.  He  was 
not  a  man  possessed  of  a  scholarlike  knowledge  of  the 
ancient  system  of  the  Vedanta-philosophy,  nor  do  I  feel 
certain  that  even  Keshub  Chunder  Sen  had  studied  Sum- 


7O      THE  LIFE  AND  SAYINGS  OF  RAMAK/J/SHJVA. 

kara's  or  Ramanu^a's  famous  commentaries  on  the  Vedinta 
Sutras.  But  both  were  thoroughly  imbued  with  the  spirit 
of  that  philosophy,  which  is,  in  fact,  like  the  air  breathed 
more  or  less  by  every  Hindu  who  cares  for  philosophy  or 
religion.  It  is  difficult  to  say  whether  we  should  treat 
the  Vedanta  as  philosophy  or  religion,  the  two  being  really 
inseparable  from  the  Hindu  point  of  view. 

What  is  curious,  however,  both  in  Keshub  Chunder 
Sen's  and  in  Ramakn'shoa's  utterances,  is  the  admixture 
of  European  ideas.  Neither  the  one  nor  the  other  would 
have  spoken  as  they  did,  before  the  English  Government 
began  its  educational  work  in  India.  The  bulk  of  their 
teaching  is,  no  doubt,  Indian  to  the  backbone.  It  is  the 
old  Indian  philosophy,  properly  called  Vedanta  or  the 
highest  goal  of  the  Veda,  but  there  is  clearly  a  sprinkling, 
and  sometimes  far  more  than  a  mere  sprinkling,  of  European 
thoughts  in  Keshub's  writings ;  and  we  often  meet  with 
quite  unexpected  references  to  European  subjects,  not  ex- 
cluding railways  and  gas,  in  the  sayings  of  Ramakr/shna. 

It  is  necessary  to  explain  in  a  few  words  the  character 
of  that  Vedanta-philosophy  which  is  the  very  marrow 
running  through  all  the  bones  of  Ramaknshna's  doctrine. 
It  is  by  no  means  easy,  however,  to  give  a  short  abstract 
of  that  ancient  philosophy,  particularly  if  we  consider  that 
it  exists  now,  and  seems  always  to  have  existed,  under  three 
different  forms,  the  Advaita  School  (non-duality  school), 
the  Vijish/a-advaita  School  (non-duality  school,  with  a 
difference),  and  the  Dvaita  School  (real  duality  school), 
the  last  of  which  seems  hardly  to  have  a  right  to  the  name 


VEDANTA-PHILOSOPHV.  7 1 

of  Vedanta,  but  nevertheless  is  so  called.  The  Advaita  or 
non-duality  school,  chiefly  represented  by  .Sawkara  and  his 
followers,  holds  that  there  is  and  there  can  be  one  reality 
only,  whether  we  call  it  God,  the  Infinite  or  the  Absolute,  the 
Unknowable  or  Brahman,  so  that  it  follows  by  the  strictest 
rules  of  logic  that  whatever  is  or  seems  to  be,  can  be  that  one 
Absolute  only,  though  wrongly  conceived,  as  we  are  told, 
by  Avidya  or  Nescience.  The  human  soul,  like  everything 
else,  is  and  can  be  nothing  but  Brahman  or  the  Absolute, 
though  for  a  time  misconceived  by  AvidyH  or  Nescience. 
The  desire  of  each  individual  soul  is  not,  as  commonly 
supposed,  an  approach  to  or  a  union  with  Brahman,  but 
simply  a  becoming  what  it  has  always  been,  a  recovering 
and  recollection  of  its  true  being,  a  recognition  of  the  full 
and  undivided  Brahman  as  the  eternal  basis  of  every 
apparently  individual  soul. 

The  second  school,  called  Vmsh/a-advaita,  or  Advaita, 
non-duality,  with  a  difference,  was  evidently  intended  for 
a  larger  public,  for  those  who  could  not  bring  them- 
selves to  deny  all  reality  to  the  phenomenal  world,  and 
some  individuality  likewise  to  their  own  souls.  It  is  diffi- 
cult to  say  which  of  the  two  schools  was  the  more  ancient, 
and  I  am  bound  to  acknowledge,  after  Professor  Thibaut's 
luminous  exposition,  that  the  VLrish/advaita  interpretation 
seems  to  me  more  in  keeping  with  the  Sutras  of  Bada- 
raya«a.  It  is  true  that  Ramanu^a  lived  in  the  twelfth, 
.Sawkara  in  the  eighth  century,  but  there  were  Virish/advaita 
expositions  and  commentaries  long  before  Ramanu^a. 
Considered  as  a  case  of  philosophical  athletics,  the  rigidly 


72      THE  LIFE  AND  SAYINGS  OF  RAMAKK/SHJTA. 


school  cannot  fail  to  ™immaiid  our  admiration. 
.Surkaia  «i*at*c  no  cifflK'<*iffK**f  of  any  JrinH.  He  begins 
and  never  parts  with  his  conviction  that  whatever  is,  is  one 
and  the  same  in  itself,  without  vanahlcncjs  or  shadow  of 
turning-  This,  what  he  caDs  the  Brahman,  does  not  possess 
any  «f»Htif«  (vijesha),  not  even  those  of  being  and  thinking, 
but  it  is  both  being  and  thought.  To  every  alleinpt  to 
ociinc  ^y  ooalijv  dahman.  ^ajMdcara  has  uut  ooff  answer~~~ 
No,  No  !  When  the  question  is  asked  as  to  die  cane  of 
what  cannot  be  denied,  namely,  the  manifold  phenomenal 
world,  or  die  world  as  reflected  in  our  consciousness,  with 
an  its  individual  subjects,  and  all  its  individual  objects, 

all  rtiaf    <p*mA*i*  r^f^ji'y  «*IM|«  to  say  IS  that-  tn*ir  ran^y  is 

Avidvi  or  Nescience.  Here  bes  what  strikes  a  Western 
mfpd  as  the  vulnerable  point  of  fo*"1'"***  VedSnta-phflo- 
sophy.  We  should  fed  inclined  to  say  that  even  dns 
Avidyfi,  which  caines  the  phenomenal  world  to  appeal, 

cause  j^f^i  reality,  uut 


not    allow  tht^  aiMJ    Mi«^l«    again    a«d  again   tiiafr^  as  an 

illusion,  Nescience  is  neither  real  nor  unreal,  but  is  : 
thing  fiaKlly  tike  our  own  ignorance  when,  for 
we  hnaginr  we  see  a  serpent,  while  what  we  really  see 
is  a  rope,  and  yet  we  run  away  fkom  it  in  all  earnestness 
as  if  it  were  a  real  cobra.  This  creative  Nescience,  once 
granted,  everything  else  proceeds  smoothly  enough.  Brah- 
man (or  Atman),  as  held  or  as  beheld  by  AvidyS,  seems 
modified  into  all  that  is  phenomenal.  Our  inUiiiineuts  of 
knowledge,  whether  ICIKCS  or  mind,  nay,  our  whole  body, 
should  be  considered  as  impediments  or  fetters  rather,  as 


VEDANTA-PHILOSOPHY.  73 

U  pad  his,  as  they  are  called,  which  one  feels  tempted  to 
translate  by  impositions.  And  here  the  difficulty  arises — are 
these  Upadhis,  these  misleading  organs  of  knowledge,  the 
cause  or  the  result  of  Avidya?  With  us  they  are  clearly 
the  cause  of  Avidya  ;  but  are  they  not,  like  everything  that 
we  call  created,  the  result  also  of  that  universal  beginning- 
less  Avidya,  without  which  Brahman  could  never  have 
become  even  phenomenally  creative  ?  This  is  a  point  that 
requires  further  consideration.  It  is  touched  upon,  but  hardly 
decided,  by  6awkara  in  his  commentary  (pp.  787,  789),  where 

A 

we  read l :  '  The  omniscience  and  omnipotence  of  the  Atman 
are  hidden  by  its  union  with  the  body,  that  is,  by  the  union 
with  the  body,  senses,  Manas  (mind),  and  Buddhi  (thought), 
the  objects,  and  their  perception  as  such.'  And  here  we 
have  the  simile :  As  fire  is  endowed  with  burning  and 
light,  but  both  are  hidden  when  fire  has  retired  into  the 
wood  or  is  covered  with  ashes,  in  the  same  manner,  through 
the  union  of  the  Self  with  the  Upadhis,  such  as  body,  senses, 
&c.,  that  is,  with  the  Upadhis  formed  by  Avidya  from  Nama- 
rupa,  names  and  forms,  there  arises  the  error  of  the  Atman 
not  being  different  from  them,  and  this  is  what  causes  the 
hiding  of  the  omniscience  and  omnipotence  of  the  Atman. 
It  is  under  the  influence  of  that  Avidya  that  Brahman 
assumes  or  receives  names  and  forms  (namarupa),  which 
come  very  near  to  the  Greek  Xdyot,  or  the  archetypes  of  every- 
thing. Then  follow  the  material  objective  elements  which 
constitute  animate  and  inanimate  bodies,  in  fact  the  whole 
objective  world.  But  all  this  is  illusive.  In  reality  there 
1  Deussen,  System  des  Vedanta,  p.  115. 


74      THE  LIFE  AND  SAYINGS  OF  RAMAKK/SHJVA. 

are  no  individual  things,  no  individual  souls  (^ivas) ;  they 
only  seem  to  exist  so  long  as  Nescience  prevails  over 
Atman  or  Brahman. 

Ekam  advitiyam.     One  without  a  Second. 

If  you  ask,  what  then  is  real  in  all  things  and  in  every 
individual  soul  ?  the  answer  is,  Brahman,  the  One  without 
a  Second,  the  One  besides  whom  there  is  nothing ;  but  this 
answer  can  be  understood  by  those  only  who  know  Avidya, 
and  by  knowing  it  have  destroyed  it  Others  believe  that  the 
world  is  this  or  that,  and  that  they  themselves  are  this  and 
that.  Man  thinks  that  he  is  an  Ego  dwelling  in  the  body, 
seeing  and  hearing,  comprehending  and  reasoning,  reasoning 
and  acting,  while  with  the  strict  Vedantist  the  true  Self 
lies  deep  below  the  Ego,  or  the  Aham,  which  belongs  to 
the  world  of  illusion.  As  an  Ego,  man  has  become  already 
an  actor  and  enjoyer,  instead  of  remaining  a  distant  witness 
of  the  world.  He  is  then  carried  along  into  the  Sawsara, 
the  concourse  of  the  world ;  he  becomes  the  creature  or 
the  slave  of  his  accumulated  acts  (karman),  and  goes  on 
from  change  to  change,  till  in  the  end  he  discovers  the  true 
Brahman  which  alone  really  exists,  and  which  as  being 
himself  is  called  Atman  or  Self,  and  at  the  same  time 
Paramatman,  or  the  Highest,  Atman  and  Brahman,  both 
being  one  and  the  same  thing.  Good  works  may  be  help- 
ful in  producing  a  proper  state  of  mind  for  receiving  this 
knowledge,  but  it  is  by  knowledge  alone  that  men  can  be 
Raved  and  obtain  Mukti,  freedom,  and  not  by  good  works. 
This  salvation  or  freedom  finds  expression  in  the  celebrated 


EKAM  ADVITIYAM.  75 

words  Tat  tvam  asi,  thou  art  that,  i.e.  thou  art  not  thou, 

A 

but  that,  i.  e.  the  only  existing  Brahman ;  the  Atman,  the 
Self,  and  the  Brahman  are  one  and  the  same. 

Strange  as  .Sawkara's  monism  may  seem  to  us,  yet  the 
current  idea  that  God  created  the  world  out  of  nothing 
can,  strictly  speaking,  mean  nothing  else  than  that  nothing 
can  ever  exist  by  the  side  of  God,  that  God,  out  of  His  own 
energy,  supplied  both  the  material  and  the  efficient  cause 
of  the  world.  Ramanu^a  is  less  exacting.  He  is  at  one 
with  .Sawkara  in  admitting  that  there  can  be  only  one 
thing  real,  namely  Brahman,  but  he  allows  what  .Sa#zkara 
strenuously  denies,  that  Brahman  possesses  attributes. 
His  chief  attribute,  according  to  Ramanu^a,  is  thought  or 
intelligence,  but  he  is  likewise  allowed  to  possess  omnipo- 
tence, omniscience,  love,  and  other  good  qualities.  He  is 
allowed  to  possess  within  himself  certain  powers  (jaktis), 
the  seeds  of  plurality,  so  that  both  the  material  objects 
of  our  experience  and  the  individual  souls  (^vas)  may  be 
considered  as  real  modifications  of  the  real  Brahman,  and 
not  merely  as  phenomena  or  illusions  (maya1).  In  this 
modified  capacity  Brahman  is  spoken  of  as  Irvara,  the 
Lord,  and  both  the  thinking  (£it)  and  the  unthinking 
world  (a&t)  are  supposed  to  constitute  his  body.  He  is 
then  called  the  Antaryamin,  the  ruler  within,  so  that 
both  the  objects  and  the  souls  which  he  controls  are 
entitled  in  their  individuality  to  an  independent  reality, 
which,  as  we  saw,  .Sawkara  boldly  denies.  Though  Ramanu^a 
also  would  hardly  accept  our  idea  of  creation,  he  teaches 
evolution  or  a  process  by  which  all  that  existed  potentially 


76       THE  LIFE  AND  SAYINGS  OF  RAMAKK/SILYA. 

or  in  a  subtile  invisible  form  in  the  one  Brahman,  while 
in  its  undeveloped  state  (pralaya),  becomes  visible,  material, 
objective,  and  individual  in  this  phenomenal  world.  Could 
our  evolutionists  have  wished  for  a  better  ancestor  ?  Their 
phraseology  may  be  different,  but  what  is  meant  is  the  same 
Ramanu^a  distinguishes  between  Brahman  as  a  cause  and 
Brahman  as  an  effect,  but  he  teaches  at  the  same  time  that 
cause  and  effect  are  always  the  same,  though  what  we  call 
cause  undergoes  pari«ama,  i.  e.  development,  in  order  to 
become  what  we  call  effect.  Instead  of  holding  with  5a/«kara 
that  we  are  deceived  about  Brahman,  that  we  turn  it  aside 
or  invert  it  (vivarta)  while  under  the  sway  of  Nescience, 
Ram&nu^a  teaches  that  Brahman  really  changes,  that  what  is 
potential  in  him  at  first,  becomes  real  and  objective  at  last 
Another  important  difference  between  the  two  is  that  while 
-Sawkara's  highest  goal  consists  in  Brahman  recovering  itself 
by  knowledge,  Ramanu^a  recognises  the  merit  of  good 
works,  and  allows  a  pure  soul  to  rise  by  successive  stages 
to  the  world  of  Brahman,  to  enjoy  there  perfect  felicity 
without  fear  of  new  births  or  of  further  transmigration. 
With  him,  as  with  us,  the  soul  is  really  supposed  to 
approach  the  throne  of  Brahman,  to  become  like  Brahman, 
and  participate  in  all  his  powers  except  one,  that  of  creating, 
that  is,  sending  forth  the  phenomenal  world,  governing  it, 
and  absorbing  it  again  when  the  time  comes.  Thus  not 
only  does  Ramanu^a  allow  individuality  to  individual  souls, 
but  likewise  to  f  rvara,  the  Lord,  the  personal  God,  while  with 
.Sawkara  a  personal  god  would  be  as  unreal  as  a  personal 
soul,  both  becoming  real  only  in  their  recovered  identity. 


EKAM   ADVITIYAM.  77 

What  Ramanu^a  thus  represents  as  the  highest  truth  and 
as  the  highest  goal  to  be  reached  by  a  man  seeking  for 
salvation,  is  not  altogether  rejected  by  Samkara.  It  is 
tolerated,  but  it  is  looked  upon  by  him  as  Lower  Know- 
ledge, the  personal  Brahman  as  the  Lower  Brahman.  That 
Brahman  is  called  aparam,  lower,  and  sagu^am,  qualified, 
and  being  a  merely  personal  God,  he  is  often  worshipped 
by  Ramanu^a  and  his  numerous  followers,  even  under  such 
popular  names  as  Vish«u  or  Naraya»a.  With  Samkara  that 
personal  l^vara  or  Lord  would  be  conceived  as  the  pratika, 
the  outward  face  or  appearance  only,  we  might  almost  say  as 
the  persona  or  the  irpovwirov  of  the  Godhead,  and  his 
worship  (upasana),  though  ignorant,  is  tolerated  and  even 
recommended  as  practically  useful.  The  Jewish  and  the 
Christian  idea  of  God  would  be  in  his  eyes  the  same, 
a  pratika  or  persona  of  the  Godhead.  A  worship  of  that 
God  makes  the  God  to  be  what  he  is  worshipped  as  (Ved. 
Sutra  III,  4,  52),  and,  such  as  it  is,  it  may  lead  the  pious 
and  virtuous  man  to  eternal  happiness.  But  it  is  true 
knowledge  alone  that  can  produce  eternal  salvation,  that  is, 
recovered  Brahmanhood,  and  this,  even  in  this  life  (^ivan 
mukti),  with  freedom  from  karman  (works)  and  from  all 
further  transmigration  after  death,  in  fact  with  freedom  from 
the  law  of  causality.  It  seems  strange  that  the  followers  of 
these  two  schools  of  Vedanta  have  so  long  lived  in  peace  and 
harmony  together,  though  differing  on  what  we  should  con- 
sider the  most  essential  points,  whether  of  philosophy  or 
religion.  The  followers  of  Samkara  do  not  accuse  the  fol- 
lowers of  Ramanu^a  of  downright  error  (mithyadarcana),  but 


78      THE  LIFE  AND  SAYINGS  OF  RAMAKK/SHtfA. 

of  Nescience  only,  or  of,  humanly  speaking,  inevitable  Avidya. 
Even  the  phenomenal  world  and  the  individual  souls,  though 
due  to  AvidyS,  are  not,  as  we  saw,  considered  as  empty  or 
false;  they  are  phenomenal,  but  have  their  reality  in  Brahman, 
if  only  our  eyes,  by  the  withdrawal  of  Avidya,  are  opened 
to  see  the  truth.  What  is  phenomenal  is  not  nothing, 
but  is  always  the  appearance  of  that  which  is  and  remains 
real,  whether  we  call  it  the  Brahman,  the  Atman,  the  Abso- 
lute, the  Unknowable,  or,  in  Kantian  language,  das  Ding 
an  sick.  Besides,  it  is  recognised,  even  by  the  strictest 
monists,  that  for  all  practical  purposes  (vyavahara)  the 
phenomenal  world  may  be  treated  as  real.  It  could  not 
even  seem  to  exist  (videri)  unless  it  had  its  real  founda- 
tion in  Brahman.  The  only  riddle  that  remains  is  Avidya 
or  Nescience,  often  called  Maya  or  illusion.  Sa.mka.ra.  him- 
self will  not  say  that  it  is  or  that  it  is  not  real.  All  he  can 
say  is  that  it  is  there,  and  that  it  is  the  aim  of  the  Vedanta- 
philosophy  to  annihilate  it  by  Vidya,  Nescience  by  science, 
proving  thereby,  it  would  seem,  that  Avidya  is  not  real. 

At  first  sight  this  Vedanta-philosophy  is,  no  doubt,  start- 
ling, but  after  some  time  one  grows  so  familiar  with  it  and 
becomes  so  fond  of  it  that  one  wonders  why  it  should  not 
have  been  discovered  by  the  philosophers  of  any  other 
country.  It  seems  to  solve  all  difficulties  but  one,  to  adapt 
itself  to  any  other  philosophy,  nay,  to  every  kind  of  religion 
which  does  not  intrench  itself  behind  the  ramparts  of  revela- 
tion and  miracle.  The  difficulty  is  to  find  a  natural  approach 
to  it  from  the  position  which  we  occupy  in  looking  at 
philosophical  and  religious  problems.  I  tried  before  to  open 


EKAM   ADVITIYAM.  79 

one  of  its  doors  by  asking  the  question,  what  is  the  cause  of 
all  things?  and  we  met  with  the  answer  that  that  cause  must 
be  one,  without  a  second,  because  the  very  presence  of 
a  second  would  limit  and  condition  that  which  is  to  be 
unlimited  and  unconditioned.  We  saw  how,  in  order  to 
explain  what  cannot  be  doubted,  namely,  the  constant 
changes  in  the  world  by  which  we  are  surrounded,  Avidya 
or  Nescience  was  called  in  to  explain  what  cannot  be  denied 
— the  variety  of  our  sensations.  It  is  curious  only  that  what 
the  Greek  philosophers  called  the  logoi,  the  thoughts  or 
names  as  archetypes  of  all  phenomenal  things,  were  by  the 
Vedanta  treated  not  as  the  expressions  of  Divine  Wisdom  or 
of  Sophia,  but  as  Nama-rupa,  names  and  forms,  the  result  of 
Nescience  or  Avidyl  This  Greek  conception,  apparently 
the  very  opposite  of  that  of  the  Vedanta,  is  nevertheless  the 
same,  only  looked  at  from  a  lower  and  higher  point  of  view. 
Nama-rupa,  names  and  forms,  and  Logoi,  names  and  what 
is  named,  express  the  same  idea,  namely,  that  as  words  are 
thoughts  realised,  the  whole  creation  is  the  word  or  the 
expression  of  eternal  thoughts,  whether  of  Brahman  or 
of  the  Godhead,  or,  in  another  version,  that  the  world 
represents  the  idea  in  its  dialectic  progress  from  mere  being 
to  the  highest  manifestations  of  thought.  That  Brahman 
can  easily  be  proved  to  have  originally  meant  word,  makes 
the  coincidence  between  Vedanta,  Neo-Platonism,  and 
Christian  philosophy  still  more  striking,  though  it  would  be 
hazardous  to  think  of  any  historical  connexion  between 
these  ancient  conceptions  of  a  rational  universe.  Lest  it 
should  be  supposed  that  I  had  assimilated  the  Hindu  idea 


80      THE  LIFE  AND  SAYINGS  OF  RAMAKK/SHNA. 

of  the  word,  as  being  with  Brahman  and  becoming  the 
origin  of  the  world,  too  closely  to  the  Greek  conception 
of  the  Logos,  I  subjoin  a  literal  translation  of  a  passage  in 
•Sawkara's  commentary  (p.  96,  i).  He  holds  that  Brah- 
man is  pure  intelligence,  and  when  the  opponent  remarks 
that  intelligence  is  possible  only  if  there  are  objects  of  in- 
telligence, he  replies:  'As  the  sun  would  shine  even  if  there 
were  no  objects  to  illuminate,  Brahman  would  be  intelli- 
gence even  if  there  were  no  objects  on  which  to  exercise 
his  intelligence.  Such  an  object,  however,  exists  even 
before  the  creation,  namely,  Nama-rupa,  the  names  and 
forms,  as  yet  undeveloped,  but  striving  for  development 
(avyakn'te,  vya/fcikirshite),  that  is  the  words  of  the  Veda 
living  in  the  mind  of  the  creator  even  before  the  creation  V 
Might  not  this  have  been  written  by  Plato  himself? 


ereau-nJc. 

We  may  try  now  another  door  for  an  entrance  into  the 
Vedanta-philosophy,  which  may  help  in  bringing  the 
Vedanta  nearer  to  ourselves,  or  ourselves  nearer  to  the 
Vedanta,  so  that  it  may  be  looked  upon  not  simply  as  a 
strange  and  curious  system,  but  as  a  system  of  thought 
with  which  we  can  sympathise,  nay,  which,  with  certain 
modifications,  we  can  appropriate  for  our  own  purposes  8. 

One  of  the  most  ancient  commands  of  Greek  philosophy 
was  the  famous  TvS»6i  ereauroV,  know  thyself.  Here  the 
Hindu  philosopher  would  step  in  at  once  and  say  that 

1  See  Deussen,  Das  System  des  Vedstota,  pp.  75,  147. 
'  Cf.  Deussen,  L  c.  p.  60  seq. 


2EAYTON.  8 1 

this  is  likewise  the  very  highest  object  of  their  own  philo- 
sophy, only  that  they  express  it  more  fully  by  Atmanam 
atmana  pa^ya,  See  the  Self  by  the  Self!  But  like  true 
philosophers  they  would  let  no  word  pass  unchallenged,  and 
would  ask  at  once,  who  or  what  is  meant  by  the  avros, 
or  by  the  Self  ?  The  Vedanta-philosophy  has  been  called 
a  philosophy  of  negation,  which  tries  to  arrive  at  the  truth 
by  a  repeated  denial  of  what  cannot  be  the  truth.  It  often 
defines  its  own  character  by  Na,  na,  Not  this,  not  that. 
First  of  all  then  the  Vedanta  would  say,  the  aurdr,  or  that 
which  is  what  we  are,  the  Self,  cannot  be  the  body.  In  the 
true  sense  of  the  word,  the  body  is  not,  has  no  right  to  be 
called  being,  sat,  because  sooner  or  later  it  ceases  to  be,  and 
nothing  can  ever  cease  to  be,  if  it  really  is.  As  the  body 
is  not  eternal,  it  is  not  real  in  the  highest  sense  of  reality. 
If  therefore  we  want  to  know  what  is  truly  real,  the  body 
(deha  or  sthulasarira)  cannot  be  the  avros  or  the  Self. 

But  if  we  see  that  all  we  know  comes  to  us  through 
the  five  senses  of  seeing,  hearing,  touching,  tasting,  and 
smelling,  that  we  cannot  go  beyond  the  senses,  that  we 
never  have  nor  can  have  more  than  sensuous  images  of 
the  world  and  of  ourselves,  and  that  what  we  call  our 
knowledge  consists  in  the  first  instance  of  these  images, 
not  of  any  realities,  which  we  may  postulate,  indeed,  as 
underlying  these  images,  but  which  we  can  never  reach, 
except  by  hypothesis,  might  we  not  say  that  our  senses 
as  a  whole  are  our  avros  or  Self?  The  Vedantist  would 
reply  again,  No,  no.  Our  senses  are  wonderful  indeed, 
but  they  are  only  the  instruments  of  our  knowledge,  they 

G 


82      THE  LIFE  AND  SAYINGS  OF 

form  part  of  our  body,  they  perish  with  the  body,  and 
cannot  therefore  constitute  our  real  Self.  Besides  the  five 
senses  which  the  Hindus  call  .gvZanendriyas,  senses  of 
knowledge,  they  admit  five  other  senses  which  they  call 
karmendriyas,  senses  of  action,  namely,  the  senses  of 
speaking,  grasping,  moving,  excretion,  and  procreation. 
This  is  an  idea  peculiar  to  the  Hindus,  the  former  five 
being  intended  for  action  from  without  to  within  (upalabdhi), 
the  latter  for  action  from  within  to  without  (karman).  The 
images  brought  to  us  by  the  senses,  on  which  we  depend 
for  all  our  knowledge,  are  what  we  should  call  states  of 
consciousness,  they  are  not  even  our  Ego,  much  less  our 
Self.  They  come  and  go,  arise  and  vanish,  and  cannot 
therefore  be  called  real  or  eternal,  as  little  as  the  body. 
In  all  these  images  we  may  distinguish  the  subject  or  the 
active  element,  and  the  object  or  the  passive  element. 
The  passive  or  objective  elements  are  what  we  are  ac- 
customed to  call  matter,  and  this  matter,  according  to  the 
five  senses  by  which  it  is  perceived,  is  divided  into  five 
kinds,  viz.  ether,  corresponding  to  hearing;  light,  corre- 
sponding to  seeing ;  air,  corresponding  to  touching ;  water, 
corresponding  to  tasting;  and  earth,  corresponding  to 
smelling.  This  is  all  that  we  can  legitimately  mean  by 
the  five  elements.  They  are  to  us  states  of  consciousness, 
or  vj^wana  only.  But  though  to  us  elementary  matter 
exists,  and  can  exist  as  known,  or  in  the  form  of  knowledge 
only,  the  Vedanta.  does  not  deny  its  existence,  whatever 
it  may  say  about  its  reality.  If  the  objects  of  our  sensuous 
knowledge  are  all  the  result  of  Avidya,  the  elements  also 


2EAYTON.  83 

must  share  that  fate,  and  cannot  claim  more  than  a  phe- 
nomenal reality. 

As,  however,  there  are  few,  if  any,  sensations  correspond- 
ing to  one  element  only,  without  being  mixed  up  with 
others,  each  element  is  supposed  to  be  five-folded,  that  is, 
to  contain  one  preponderating  quality,  and  small  portions 
of  the  others.  This  so-called  Pa«/$ikara#a  or  quintupling 
is  not  to  be  found,  however,  in  the  ancient  Vedanta;  it 
belongs  to  the  refinements,  and  not  always  improvements, 
of  a  later  age  to  which  we  owe  such  works  as  the  very 
popular  Vedantasara.  A  different  and,  as  it  would  seem, 
far  more  primitive  conception  of  the  elements  is  found  in 
the  Upanishads,  for  instance,  the  .Oandogya  Upanishad 
VI,  2.  We  generally  find  in  India  four  elements,  or,  with 
the  addition  of  aka\ra,  ether,  as  the  vehicle  of  sound,  five. 
The  most  primitive  conception  of  the  constituent  elements 
of  the  world,  however,  would  seem  to  have  been  three; 
namely,  what  is  earthy,  what  is  fiery,  and  what  is  watery. 
These  three  elements  could  not  possibly  be  overlooked,  and 
this  threefold  division  is  actually  found  in  the  .Oandogya, 
where  the  three  elements  are  called  Anna,  Te^as,  and 
Ap,  or,  as  they  are  arranged  there,  first,  Te^as,  including 
fire,  light,  and  warmth,  then  Ap,  water,  and  lastly  Anna, 
earth.  It  is  true  that  Anna  means  otherwise  food,  but 
it  can  here  be  taken  in  the  sense  of  earth  only,  as  sup- 
plying food.  The  first  is  represented  as  red,  the  second 
as  white,  the  third  as  black.  These  three  elements  also 
are  represented  as  being  mixed  in  three  proportions, 
and  as  constituent  elements  of  the  human  body  they  are 

G  2 


84      THE  LIFE  AND  SAYINGS  OF  RAMAKK/SHATA. 

represented  as  passing  through  three  forms  of  development, 
the  earthy  portion  being  manifested  in  faeces,  flesh,  and 
Manas,  the  watery  portion  in  urine,  blood,  and  life,  the  fiery 
portion  in  bones,  marrow,  and  speech.  There  are  many 
of  these  purely  fanciful  speculations  to  be  found  in  the 
Upanishads.  This,  however,  should  not  be  allowed  to  pre- 
judice us  against  what  is  simple  and  primitive  and  rational 
in  these  depositories  of  ancient  thought.  But  if  it  is  asked, 
Can  these  passive  and  active  senses  be  the  Self?  the 
Vedantist  says  again,  No,  no;  they  are  not  what  we  are 
in  search  of,  they  cannot  be  the  auras,  which  must  be  real, 
unchanging,  and  eternal. 

If  this  applies  to  the  ten  senses,  it  applies  with  equal 
strength  to  what  is  sometimes  called  the  eleventh  sense,  the 
Manas,  all  treated  as  material,  and  as  products  of  the  earthy 
element  Manas  is  etymologically  closely  connected  with 
metis  and  has  therefore  been  generally  translated  by  mind. 
But  though  it  may  be  used  in  that  sense  in  ordinary 
language,  it  has  a  narrower  meaning  in  Sanskrit  philosophy. 
It  is  meant  for  the  central  and  combining  organ  of  the 
senses  of  perception  and  action.  This  Manas  performs 
originally,  what  we  ascribe  to  the  faculty  of  attention 
(avadhana) :  it  acts,  as  we  are  told,  as  a  doorkeeper,  pre- 
venting the  impressions  of  the  different  senses  from  rushing 
in  simultaneously,  and  producing  nothing  but  confusion. 
It  is  easy  to  show  that  this  central  sense  also  falls  under 
the  Vedantic  No,  no.  It  cannot  be  the  Self,  which  must 
be  permanent  and  real ;  it  is  an  instrument  only,  and  there- 
fore called  anta>$kara«a — the  inner  organ.  We  see  here  the 


2EAYTON.  85 

same  confusion  which  exists  elsewhere.  There  is  such  an 
abundance  of  words  expressive  of  what  is  going  on  within 
us,  our  anta^karawa,  our  mind  in  its  various  manifestations, 
that  we  are  embarrassed  rather  than  helped  by  this  wealth. 
The  worst  of  it  is  that  as  there  are  so  many  words,  it  was 
supposed  at  a  later  time  that  each  must  have  its  own 
peculiar  meaning;  and,  if  it  had  not,  scholastic  definition 
soon  came  in  to  assign  to  each  that  special  meaning  which 
it  was  to  have  in  future.  In  the  meantime  the  stream  of 
languages  flowed  on  in  complete  disregard  of  such  artificial 
barriers,  and  with  every  new  philosophy  the  confusion 
became  greater  and  greater.  It  is  easy  to  understand  that 
if  each  language  by  itself  can  seldom  give  us  well-defined 
terms  for  the  various  manifestations  of  our  perceptive  and 
reasoning  powers,  the  confusion  becomes  still  greater  when 
we  attempt  to  render  the  psychological  terms  of  one  by 
those  of  another  language.  For  instance,  if  we  translated 
Atman,  as  is  mostly  done,  by  soul,  we  should  be  rendering 
what  is  free  from  all  passions. by  a  word  which  generally 
implies  the  seat  of  the  passions.  And  if  we  were  to  follow 
the  example  of  others  and  translate  Manas  by  understanding 
or  Verstand,  we  should  render  what  is  meant  as  chiefly 
a  perceptive  and  arranging  faculty  by  a  name  that  implies 
reasoning  from  the  lowest  to  the  highest  form.  With  us 
Verstand  is  what  distinguishes  men  from  animals,  while  in 
the  Vedanta  Manas  is  not  denied  to  animals,  not  even,  as  it 
would  seem,  to  plants 1. 

It  seems  better  therefore  to  retain  as  much  as  possible 
1  Deussen,  1.  c.  p.  258. 


86      THE  LIFE  AND  SAYINGS  OF  RAMAK/J/SH^A. 

the  technical  terms  of  Sanskrit  philosophy,  and  to  speak  of 
Atman  or  the  Self  instead  of  soul,  of  Manas,  or  possibly 
mind,  instead  of  understanding  or  Verstand. 

We  shall  see  that  even  in  Sanskrit  itself  the  confusion 
is  very  great,  there  being  more  terms  than  can  be  accom- 
modated or  be  kept  distinct  one  from  the  other.  By  the 
side  of  the  Indriyas,  or  senses,  for  instance,  we  also  find 
Pra«as,  literally  vital  spirits,  which  include  the  Manas,  and 
as  a  conditio  sine  qua  non,  but  not  as  one  of  the  Indriyas,  the 
so-called  Mukhya  Pra«a,  the  vital  breath,  that  passes  from 
the  lungs  through  the  mouth,  and  which  again  in  a  very 
artificial,  if  not  to  say  foolish,  manner  is  divided  into  five 
varieties.  The  Manas  is  then  treated,  like  the  senses,  as 
part  of  the  body,  being  meant  at  first,  I  believe,  for  no 
more  than  the  central  and  superintending  perceptive  organ. 
But  it  has  many  functions,  and  the  names  of  some  of  them 
are  interchanged  with  the  names  of  the  Manas  itself.  We 
have  Buddhi,  the  general  name  for  perception  and  mental 
activity,  ATitta,  thought  or  what  is  thought,  Vi^wana, 
discrimination,  some  of  which  are  sometimes  treated  as 
separate  faculties.  6awkara,  however,  shows  his  powerful 
grasp  by  comprising  all  under  Manas,  so  that  Manas  is 
sometimes  reason,  sometimes  understanding,  or  mind  or 
thought.  This  simplifies  his  psychology  very  much,  though 
it  may  lead  to  misunderstandings  also.  Manas  gives  us  the 
images  (Vorstellungen)  which  consist  of  the  contributions 
of  the  different  senses ;  it  tells  us  this  is  this  (ni^aya)  and 
fixes  it  (adhyavasaya).  Images  are  formed  into  concepts  and 
words  (sawkalpa);  these  may  be  called  into  question  (sa0waya), 


2EAYTON.  87 

and  weighed  (vikalpa)  against  each  other,  so  as  to  give  us 
judgements.  Here  then  we  should  have  in  a  rough  form 
the  elements  of  our  psychology,  but  it  must  be  confessed 
that  they  were  never  minutely  elaborated  by  the  Vedanta 
philosophers.  Even  the  meanings  here  assigned  to  the 
different  psychological  terms,  were  so  assigned  etymo- 
logically  rather  than  from  definitions  given  by  Samkaia. 
himself.  According  to  him,  Manas  gives  us  everything; 
impressions,  images,  concepts,  and  judgements,  nay  even 
self-consciousness  or  Ahawkara,  i.e.  the  Ego-making,  and 
consequently  the  distinguishing  between  subjects  and  ob- 
jects, all  are  Manas.  But  when  we  ask,  is  the  Manas,  or 
the  Ahawkara,  or  Buddhi,  or  ^itta,  are  any  of  the 
attributes  of  Manas,  such  as  Kama,  desire,  Dhi,  fear,  Hri, 
shame,  Dhi,  wisdom,  Vi&kitsa,  doubt,  .Sraddha,  belief, 
Arraddha,  unbelief,  Dhrz'ti,  decision,  Adhnti,  wavering, — 
are  all  or  any  of  these  the  true  Self?  the  Vedantist  answers 
again,  No,  no ;  they  are  temporal,  they  are  composite,  they 
come  and  they  go,  they  cannot  be  what  we  are  in  search 
of,  the  true  and  eternal  Self.  It  is  clear  that  when  we  say 
my  body,  there  are  two  things  presupposed,  one  thing  the 
body,  the  other  he  to  whom  it  belongs.  So  again  when 
we  speak  of  my  senses,  my  mind,  nay  of  my  Ego,  we 
distinguish  between  a  possessor  and  what  for  the  time 
being  he  possesses.  But  we  should  never  say  my  Self, 
because  that  is  tautological :  the  Self  cannot  belong  to  any 
one  else.  If  we  were  to  say  my  Self,  we  could  only  mean 
our  Ego,  but  if  we  say  our  Self,  i.e.  the  Self  of  all,  or  simply 
Self,  we  mean  Brahman,  Brahman  as  hidden  within  us  and 


88      THE  LIFE  AND  SAYINGS  OF  RAMAKK/SHNA. 

within  the  world.  At  the  time  of  death  the  organs  of  know- 
ledge are  not  supposed  to  be  destroyed  absolutely,  but  while 
there  is  another  life  before  us,  they  are  reduced  to  a  seminal 
or  potential  form  only,  and  though  the  outward  organs  them- 
selves will  decay,  their  potentia  or  powers  remain,  dwelling 
in  what  is  called  the  Sukshma-,Sarira,  the  subtile  body,  the 
body  that  migrates  from  birth  to  birth  and  becomes  again 
and  again  a  Sthula-Sarira,  a  material  body.  But  when  real 
freedom  has  once  been  obtained,  this  Sukshma-3arira  also 
vanishes  and  there  remains  the  Atman  only,  or  Brahman  as 
he  was  and  always  will  be.  The  form  assumed  by  the 
body  in  every  new  existence  is  determined  by  the  deeds 
and  thoughts  during  former  existences :  it  is  still,  so  to  say, 
under  the  law  of  causality. 

Then  what  remains  for  the  avros,  for  the  Atman  ?  The 
Greek  sages  have  hardly  any  answer  to  give ;  to  them  the 
avr6s  was  seldom  more  than  the  Ego,  Ahawkara,  while  with 
the  Vedantist  it  is  distinctly  not  the  Ego  as  opposed  to 
a  Non-Ego,  but  something  beyond,  something  not  touched 
by  the  law  of  causality,  something  neither  suffering,  nor 
enjoying,  nor  acting,  but  that  without  which  neither  the 
gross  nor  the  subtile  body  could  ever  exist.  This  Self, 
this  the  true  aMs,  was  discovered  in  the  lotus  of  the  heart 
in  true  Self-consciousness,  it  was  discovered  as  not-personal ; 
though  dwelling  in  the  personal  or  living  Atman,  the  6*iva, 
it  remained  for  ever  a  mere  looker-on,  untouched  by  anything. 
As  I  said  before,  the  Vedanta-philosophy  is  a  philosophy 
of  negation ;  it  says  No,  no,  it  says  all  that  the  Self  is  not, 
but  what  the  Self  is,  defies  all  words  and  all  thoughts. 


2EAYTON.  89 

Our  thoughts  and  our  words  return  from  it  baffled,  as  the 
Veda  says.  There  are  passages  in  the  Upanishads  where 
attempts  are  made  to  bring  us  nearer  to  a  conception  of  the 
Self,  whether  we  call  it  the  Brahman  or  the  Atman,  but 
these  attempts  never  go  so  far  as  a  definition  of  these  two, 
or  of  this  One  Power.  In  the  ^TMndogya  Upanishad 
III,  14,  we  read:  'Surely  this  universe  is  Brahman.  It 
should  be  worshipped  in  silence  as  the  beginning,  the 
being,  and  the  end  of  all.  Its  matter  is  thought,  life  its 
body,  light  its  form.  Its  will  is  truth,  its  Self  the  infinite 
(ether).  It  works  all,  it  wills  all,  it  scents  all,  it  tastes  all, 
embracing  the  Universe,  silent  and  unconcerned.  This  is 
the  Self  in  the  innermost  heart,  smaller  than  a  mustard- 
seed  or  the  kernel  of  it.  This  is  the  Self  in  the  innermost 
heart,  larger  than  the  earth,  larger  than  the  atmosphere, 
larger  than  the  sky,  larger  than  all  worlds.  The  all- 
working,  all-willing,  all-scenting,  all-tasting  one,  the  all- 
embracing,  silent,  unconcerned  one,  this  is  the  Self  in 
the  innermost  heart,  this  is  Brahman,  this  I  shall  become 
when  parting  from  hence.  He  who  has  this,  does  not 
doubt.' 

This  subject  is  treated  again  and  again.  Very  much 
as  we  saw  it  treated  in  the  .^andogya,  we  find  it  treated 
in  the  Taittiriya  Upanishad  II,  1-7.  One  covering  after 
another  is  there  removed,  till  there  remains  in  the  end 
the  pure  Self.  First  the  body  of  flesh  and  blood  is  re- 
moved, then  the  vital  breath,  then  the  Manas,  and  with  it 
thought,  till  at  last  nothing  remains  but  the  Self  full  of 
bliss.  This  is  called  the  sap  or  the  essence.  It  is  this  Self 


9O      THE  LIFE  AND  SAYINGS  OF  RAMAK/J/SHtfA. 

that  brings  bliss,  finding  peace  and  rest  in  the  invisible, 
the  immaterial,  the  inexpressible,  the  unfathomable.  So 
long  as  anything  else  is  left,  hidden  anywhere,  there  is  no 
peace  and  no  rest,  however  wise  a  man  may  think  himself. 
Or,  as  Ya^wavalkya  says:  'He  who  knows  this,  knows 
everything.'  Every  name  that  can  be  imagined  for  ex- 
pressing what  is  really  inexpressible,  is  assigned  in  the 
Upanishads  to  Brahman.  Brahman  is  neither  long  nor 
short,  neither  subtile  nor  gross ;  he  is  without  parts,  without 
activity,  still,  without  spot,  without  fraud,  he  is  unborn, 
never  growing  old,  not  fading  nor  dying,  nor  fearing  any- 
thing; he  is  without  and  within.'  Whether  such  a  being 
can  be  called  he,  is  very  doubtful,  for  he  is  neither  he 
nor  she;  he  is  It  in  the  very  highest  sense  of  that  un- 
differentiated  pronoun. 

We  thus  see  that  both  methods,  the  first  that  started 
from  the  postulate  that  the  true  Self  must  be  one,  without 
a  second,  and  the  second,  which  holds  that  the  true  Self 
must  be  unchanging,  eternal,  without  beginning  or  end, 
arrive  at  the  same  final  result,  viz.  that  the  Self  of  the 
world  can  be  nothing  that  is  perceived  in  this  changing 
world,  and  that  our  own  Self  too  can  be  nothing  that  is 
perceived  as  changing,  as  being  born,  as  living  and  dying. 
Both  may,  in  one  sense  of  the  word,  be  called  nothings ; 
though  they  are  in  reality  that  in  comparison  with  which 
everything  else  is  nothing.  If  the  world  is  real  the  Self 
is  not,  if  the  Self  is  real  the  world  is  not 


FINAL   CONCLUSION,    TAT   TVAMASI.  9 1 

Final  Conclusion,  Tat  tvamasi. 

Then  follows  the  final  conclusion  that  these  two  Selfs  are 
one  and  the  same,  only  reached  by  different  methods.  Man 
is  man  phenomenally,  the  world  is  world  phenomenally,  the 
gods  of  the  world  are  gods  phenomenally,  but  in  full  reality 

A 

all  are  the  Godhead,  call  it  Atman  or  Brahman,  metamor- 
phosed and  hidden  for  a  time  by  Avidya  or  Nescience,  but 
always  recoverable  by  Vidya  or  by  the  Vedanta-philosophy. 
These  ideas  in  a  more  or  less  popular  form  seem  to 
pervade  the  Hindu  mind  from  the  earliest  to  the  latest 
date.  They  are  taught  in  the  schools,  but  even  without 
the  schools  they  seem  to  be  imbibed  with  the  mother's 
milk.  They  are  often  exaggerated  and  caricatured  so  as 
to  become  repulsive  to  a  European  mind,  but  in  their 
purity  and  simplicity  they  contain  an  amount  of  truth  which 
can  no  longer  be  safely  neglected  by  any  student,  whether 
of  philosophy  or  religion.  It  can  no  longer  be  put  aside  as 
merely  curious,  or  disposed  of  as  mystic,  without  a  defini- 
tion of  what  is  meant  by  mystic,  and  without  an  argument 
that  everything  that  is  called  mystic  has  really  nothing  to 
do  with  either  religion  or  philosophy.  That  it  may  lead  to 
dangerous  consequences  no  one  would  deny,  but  the  same 
may  be  said  of  almost  every  religion  and  every  philosophy, 
if  carried  to  its  last  consequences.  I  have  already  drawn 
attention  to  the  false  reasoning,  that  because  good  works 
cannot  secure  salvation,  therefore  bad  works  also  are  in- 
different or  harmless.  Good  works,  according  to  the 
Vedanta,  certainly  do  not  lead  straight  to  salvation,  but 


92      THE  LIFE  AND  SAYINGS  OF  RAMAK/J/SRVA. 

they  represent  the  first  essential  step  that  leads  on  to 
salvation,  while  evil  deeds  form  a  barrier  that  keeps  a  man 
from  making  even  the  first  step  in  his  progress  towards 
knowledge  and  beatitude.  That  a  Saint  cannot  sin,  or 
that  Srifns  nan  pcccat,  has  been  held  true  not  in  India 
only,  but  it  is  easily  seen  in  what  sense  this  is  either 
true  or  false,  whether  in  India  or  at  home.  It  cannot  be 
deeply  enough  impressed  on  the  minds  of  the  modern 
apostles  of  Ramakrrsh«a  that  nothing  would  be  more 
likely  to  lower  their  master  and  their  own  work  in  the 
eyes  of  serious  people  than  the  slightest  moral  laxity  on 
their  part,  or  a  defence  of  any  such  laxity  on  the  ground 
that  a  G^anin,  a  Knower,  is  above  morality.  It  is  one 
thing  to  say  that  such  a  man  cannot  sin  because  his  passions 
are  completely  subdued,  another  that  if  he  should  from  any 
defect  of  knowledge  lapse  from  his  passionless  and  perfect 
state  it  could  not  be  imputed  to  him  as  sin.  I  confess 
there  is  a  little  uncertainty  on  that  point  even  among  ancient 
authorities,  but  we  know  as  yet  far  too  little  of  the  classical 
Vedantic  writings  to  speak  with  confidence  on  such  a  point 
There  are  too  many  passages  in  which  strict  morality  is 
enjoined  as  a  sine  qua  non  for  Vedantic  freedom  to  allow 
any  one  to  use  a  few  doubtful  passages  in  defence  of  im- 
morality. When  we  have  first  learnt  all  that  can  be  learnt 
from  the  Vedanta,  it  will  be  time  to  begin  to  criticise  it, 
or,  if  possible,  to  improve  it.  We  study  the  systems  of 
Plato  and  Aristotle,  of  Spinoza  and  Kant,  not  as  containing 
the  full  and  perfect  truth,  cut  and  dry,  but  as  helping  us 
on  towards  the  truth.  Every  one  of  these  contains  partial 


FINAL   CONCLUSION,    TAT   TVAMASI.  93 

truths  which  might  easily  be  proved  to  lead  to  dangerous 
consequences.  What  is  necessary  to  us  at  present,  more 
than  at  any  previous  time,  is  a  historical  study  of  all 
philosophy,  that  of  India  not  excluded,  in  its  genetic  or 
dialectic  development,  so  that  we  may  not  be  swayed  by  every 
philosophical  breeze  that  announces  itself  as  new,  though 
it  has  been  discussed  again  and  again  before,  and,  it  may 
be,  far  more  thoroughly  than  by  its  most  recent  advocates. 
It  will  hereafter  sound  almost  incredible  that  in  our  time 
the  philosophical  public  should  have  been  startled  by  the 
idea  of  evolution  as  a  philosophical  novelty,  nay,  that  there 
should  have  been  an  angry  contest  as  to  who  was  really 
the  first  discoverer  of  what  has  been  discussed  again  and 
again  during  the  last  two  thousand  years.  What  is  pari»ama, 
if  not  evolution,  the  evolution  advocated  by  Ramanu^a,  but 
rejected  by  Sawkara.  That  the  illustration  of  this  evolu- 
tionary process  of  the  world,  as  given  in  our  time,  should 
stand  incomparably  higher  than  anything  attempted  from 
Ramanu^a  down  to  Herder,  who  would  deny  ?  But  to  the 
historian  of  philosophy  the  idea  is  one  thing,  its  illustration 
of  it  quite  another.  It  is  most  unfair  to  represent  a  man  like 
Darwin,  who  was  the  most  eminent  observer  of  nature,  as 
a  philosopher,  an  abstract  philosopher ;  the  very  thing  which 
he  himself  would  have  most  strongly  deprecated. 

At  present,  however,  I  am  not  concerned  with  Indian 
philosophy,  pure  et  simple,  but  with  its  effects  on  the 
popular  mind  of  India,  as  shown  by  one  of  its  recent 
representatives,  Ramakn'shwa.  He  himself  distinguishes 
very  clearly  between  philosophy  or  GVZana  (knowledge)  and 


94      THE  LIFE  AND  SAYINGS  OF  RAMAKJJ/SHJVA. 

devotion  or  Bhakti,  and  he  himself  was  a  Bhakta,  a  wor- 
shipper '  or  lover  of  the  deity,  much  more  than  a  GVzanin 
or  a  knower.  It  was  in  order  to  show  the  background 
from  which  RSmakr/sh«a  emerges,  and  the  lights  and 
shades  of  the  atmosphere  in  which  he  moved,  that 
I  thought  it  useful  to  add  a  short  sketch  of  Vedantic 
thought.  Ramaknshna  was  in  no  sense  of  the  word  an 
original  thinker,  the  discoverer  of  a  new  idea  or  the  pro- 
pounder  of  any  new  view  of  the  world.  But  he  saw  many 
things  which  others  had  not  seen,  he  recognised  the  Divine 
Presence  where  it  was  least  suspected,  he  was  a  poet,  an 
enthusiast,  or,  if  you  like,  a  dreamer  of  dreams.  But  such 
dreams  also  have  a  right  to  exist,  and  have  a  claim  on  our 
attention  and  sympathy.  Ramakr/shwa  never  composed 
a  philosophical  treatise ;  he  simply  poured  out  short  sayings, 
and  the  people  came  to  listen  to  them,  whether  the  speaker 
was  at  the  time  in  full  possession  of  his  faculties,  or  in 
a  dream,  or  in  a  trance.  From  all  we  can  learn,  it  is  quite 
clear  that  he  had,  by  a  powerful  control  of  his  breath,  and 
by  long  continued  ascetic  exercises,  arrived  at  such  a  pitch 
of  nervous  excitability  that  he  could  at  any  moment  faint 
away  or  fall  into  a  state  of  unconsciousness,  the  so-called 
Samadhi.  This  Samadhi  may  be  looked  at,  however,  from 

1  This  difference  between  Bhakti,  devotion,  and  Gwana,  knowledge, 
is  fully  treated  by  Kishori  Lai  Sarkar  in  his  interesting  little  book,  The 
Hindu  System  of  Religions  Science  and  Art,  or  the  Revelations  of 
Rationalism  and  Emotionalism,  Calcutta,  1898.  '  Cwana,'  the  author 
says,  '  sees  with  a  telescopic,  Bhakti  with  a  microscopic  eye.  O?ana 
perceives  the  essence,  Bhakti  feels  the  sweetness.  (7/lana  discovers  the 
Supreme  Intelligence,  Bhakti  reciprocates  the  Supreme  Loving  Will.' 


THE   SAYINGS   OF   RAMAKJJJSH.VA.  95 

two  points,  as  either  purely  physical  or  as  psychical.  From 
an  ordinary  Samadhi  a  man  may  recover  as  one  recovers 
from  a  fainting  fit,  but  the  true  Samadhi  consists  in  losing 
oneself  or  finding  oneself  entirely  in  the  Supreme  Spirit. 
From  this  Samadhi  there  is  no  return,  because  there  is 
nothing  left  that  can  return.  A  few  men  only  who  have 
reached  it,  are  enabled  to  return  from  it  by  means  of  a  small 
remnant  of  their  Ego,  and  through  the  efficacy  of  their  wish 
to  become  the  instructors  and  saviours  of  mankind.  Some- 
thing very  like  Samadhi  is  the  state  of  deep  dreamless  sleep, 
during  which  the  soul  is  supposed  to  be  with  Brahman  for 
a  time,  but  able  to  return.  This  deep,  unconscious  sleep 
is  one  of  the  four  states,  waking,  sleeping  with  dreams, 
sleeping  without  dreams,  and  dying.  With  Ramakrzshwa 
it  often  happened  that  when  he  had  fallen  into  this  deep 
sleep,  he  remained  in  it  so  long  that  his  friends  were  afraid 
he  would  never  return  to  consciousness,  and  so  it  was  at 
last  at  the  time  of  his  death.  He  had  fallen  into  a  trance, 
and  he  never  awoke,  but  even  death  could  lay  hold  of  his 
body  and  his  breath  only;  his  Self,  no  longer  his,  had 
recovered  its  Brahmahood,  had  become  what  it  had  always 
been  and  always  will  be,  the  Atman,  the  Highest  Self,  in  all 
its  glory,  freed  from  all  the  clouds  of  appearances,  and 
independent  of  individuality,  personality,  and  of  the  whole 
phenomenal  world. 

The  Sayings  of  Ramakr/sh*a. 

His  sayings  or  Logia  were  collected  and  written  down  by 
his  pupils,  in  Bengali ;  some  were  translated  into  Sanskrit 


96      THE  LIFE  AND  SAYINGS  OF  RAMAKR/SRYA. 

and  into  English.  There  are  many  that  remind  us  of  old 
Sanskrit  sayings,  of  which  there  are  several  collections,  all, 
however,  in  metrical  form.  The  sayings  of  Ramakr;sh«a 
are  different,  because  they  are  in  prose,  uttered  evidently 
on  the  spur  of  the  moment,  and  tinged  here  and  there  with 
European  ideas  which  must  have  reached  Ramakr;sh«a 
through  his  intercourse  with  Anglo- Indians,  and  not  from 
books,  for  he  was  ignorant  of  English.  I  received  a  complete 
collection  of  them  from  Ramakr*sh«a's  own  pupil,  Viveka- 
nanda,  well  known  by  his  missionary  labours  in  the  United 
States  and  England.  I  give  them  as  they  were  sent  to  me, 
with  such  corrections  only  as  seemed  absolutely  necessary. 
I  thought  at  first  of  arranging  them  under  different  heads, 
but  found  that  this  would  have  destroyed  their  character 
and  made  them  rather  monotonous  reading.  I  believe 
as  they  are,  they  give  a  true  picture  of  the  man  and 
of  his  way  of  teaching,  suggested  by  the  impulses  of  the 
moment,  but  by  no  means  systematic,  and  by  no  means  free 
from  repetitions  and  contradictions.  I  should  have  liked 
very  much  to  leave  out  some  of  his  sayings,  because, 
to  our  mind,  they  seem  insipid,  in  bad  taste,  or  even 
blasphemous.  But  should  I  not  in  doing  so  have  offended 
against  historic  truth?  We  want  to  know  the  man  who 
has  exercised  and  is  exercising  so  wide  an  influence,  such 
as  he  was,  not  such  as  we  wish  him  to  have  been.  He 
himself  never  wished  to  appear  different  from  what  he  was, 
and  he  often  seems  to  have  made  himself  out  worse  than 
he  was.  Besides,  if  I  had  done  so,  I  know  that  there  are 
men  who  would  not  have  been  ashamed  of  suspecting  me 


THE    SAYINGS    OF    RAMAKWSH.YA.  97 

of  a  wish  to  represent  the  religions  of  the  East,  both  modern 
and  ancient,  as  better  than  they  really  are.  These  are  the 
very  men  who  would  find  many  a  lesson  to  learn  from 
Ramakr/shwa's  sayings.  No,  I  said,  let  the  wheat  and  the 
tares  remain  together.  Few  thoughtful  readers  will  go 
through  them  without  finding  some  thought  that  makes 
them  ponder,  some  truth  that  will  startle  them  as  coming 
from  so  unexpected  a  quarter.  Nothing,  on  the  other  hand, 
would  be  easier  than  to  pick  out  a  saying  here  and  there, 
and  thus  to  show  that  they  are  all  insipid  and  foolish. 
This  is  a  very  old  trick,  described  in  India  as  the  trick  of 
the  rice-merchants  who  wish  to  sell  or  to  buy  a  rice-field, 
and  who  offer  you  a  handful  of  good  or  bad  grains  to  show 
that  the  field  is  either  valuable  or  worthless.  To  my  mind 
these  sayings,  the  good,  the  bad,  and  the  indifferent,  are 
interesting  because  they  represent  an  important  phase  of 
thought,  an  attempt  to  give  prominence  to  the  devotional 
and  practical  side  of  the  Vedanta,  and  because  they  show 
the  compatibility  of  the  Vedanta  with  other  religions.  They 
will  make  it  clear  that  the  Vedanta  also  possesses  a  morality 
of  its  own,  which  may  seem  too  high  and  too  spiritual  for 
ordinary  mortals,  but  which  in  India  has  done  good,  is  doing 
good,  and  may  continue  to  do  good  for  centuries  to  come. 
In  conclusion,  I  have  to  thank  my  friend  Mozoomdar, 
and  several  of  the  disciples  of  Ramakrfshwa,  more  par- 
ticularly Vivekananda  and  the  editor  of  the  Brahmavadin, 
for  the  ready  help  they  have  rendered  me  in  publishing  this 
collection  of  the  sayings  of  their  departed  Master. 


THE 

SAYINGS  OF 


1.  THOU  seest  many  stars  at  night  in  the  sky,  but  findest 
them  not  when  the  sun  rises.    Canst  thou  say  that  there 
are  no  stars,  then,  in  the  heaven  of  day?    So,  O  man, 
because  thou  beholdest  not  the  Almighty  in  the  days  of 
thy  ignorance,  say  not  that  there  is  no  God 

2.  As  one  and  the  same  material,  viz.  water,  is  called  by 
different  names  by  different  people — one  calling  it  '  water.' 
another  'vari,'  a  third  'aqua,'  and  another   'pa«i' — so 
the  one  Sat-£it-ananda,  the  Everlasting-Intelligent-Bliss,  is 
invoked  by  some  as  God,  by  some  as  Allah,  by  some  as 
Hari,  and  by  others  as  Brahman. 

3.  Two  persons  were  hotly  disputing  as  to  the  colour 
of  a  chameleon.     One  said,  '  The  chameleon  on  that  palm- 
tree  is  of  a  beautiful  red  colour.'    The  other,  contradicting 
him,  said,  'You  are  mistaken,  the  chameleon  is  not  red,  but 
blue.'    Not  being  able  to  settle  the  matter  by  arguments, 
both  went  to  the  person  who  always  lived  under  that  tree 
and  had  watched  the  chameleon  in  all  its  phases  of  colour. 

1  Some  more  of  Ramakmhna's  sayings  have  been  sent  to  me  lately, 
bat  their  publication  will  bare  to  wait  for  another  opportunity. 


THE   SAYINGS.  99 

One  of  them  said,  '  Sir,  is  not  the  chameleon  on  that  tree 
of  a  red  colour?'  The  person  replied,  'Yes,  sir.'  The 
other  disputant  said,  '  What  do  you  say  ?  How  is  it  ?  It  is 
not  red,  it  is  blue.'  That  person  again  humbly  replied, 
'Yes,  sir.'  The  person  knew  that  the  chameleon  is  an 
animal  that  constantly  changes  its  colour;  thus  it  was 
that  he  said  '  yes '  to  both  these  conflicting  statements. 
The  Sat-^it-ananda  likewise  has  various  forms.  The  devotee 
who  has  seen  God  in  one  aspect  only,  knows  Him  in  that 
aspect  alone.  But  he  who  has  seen  Him  in  His  manifold 
aspects,  is  alone  in  a  position  to  say,  '  All  these  forms  are 
of  one  God,  for  God  is  multiform.'  He  has  forms  and  has 
no  forms,  and  many  are  His  forms  which  no  one  knows. 

4.  Many  are  the  names  of  God,  and  infinite  the  forms 
that  lead  us  to  know  Him.     In  whatsoever  name  or  form 
you  desire  to  call  Him,  in  that  very  form  and  name  you  will 
see  Him. 

5.  Four  blind  men  went  to   see  an  elephant.      One 
touched  the  leg  of  the  elephant,  and  said,  '  The  elephant  is 
like  a  pillar.'     The  second  touched  the  trunk,  and  said, 
'  The  elephant  is  like  a  thick  stick  or  club.'     The  third 
touched  the  belly,  and  said,  '  The  elephant  is  like  a  big 
jar.'     The  fourth  touched  the  ears,  and  said,  '  The  elephant 
is  like  a  winnowing  basket.'     Thus  they  began  to  dispute 
amongst  themselves  as  to  the  figure  of  the  elephant.     A 
passer-by  seeing  them  thus  quarrelling,  said,  'What  is  it 
that  you  are  disputing  about  ? '     They  told  him  everything, 
and  asked  him  to  arbitrate.     That  man  said,  '  None  of  you 

H  2 


I OO      THE  LIFE  AND  SAYINGS  OF  RAMAK/J/SHJVA. 

has  seen  the  elephant  The  elephant  is  not  like  a  pillar, 
its  legs  are  like  pillars.  It  is  not  like  a  big  water-vessel,  its 
belly  is  like  a  water-vessel  It  is  not  like  a  winnowing 
basket,  its  ears  are  like  winnowing  baskets.  It  is  not  like 
a  thick  stick  or  club,  but  its  proboscis  is  like  that.  The 
elephant  is  the  combination  of  all  these,'  In  the  same 
manner  those  quarrel  who  have  seen  one  aspect  only  of  the 
Deity. 

6.  As  the  same  sugar  is  made  into  various  figures  of 
birds  and  beasts,  so  one  sweet  Mother  Divine  is  worshipped 
in  various  climes  and  ages  under  various  names  and  forms. 
Different   creeds  are    but  different   paths    to  reach    the 
Almighty. 

7.  As  with  one  gold  various  ornaments  are  made,  having 
different  forms  and  names,  so  one  God  is  worshipped  in 
different  countries  and  ages,  and  has  different  forms  and 
names.     Though  He  may  be  worshipped  variously,  some 
loving  to  call  him  Father,  others  Mother,  &c.,  yet  it  is  one 
God  that  is  being  worshipped  in  all  these  various  relations 
and  modes. 

8.  Q.  If  the  God  of  every  religion  is  the  same,  why 
is  it  then  that  the  God  is  painted  differently  by  different 
religionists  ?    A.  God  is  one,  but  His  aspects  are  different : 
as  one  master  of  the  house  is  father  to  one,  brother  to 
another,  and  husband  to  a  third,  and  is  called  by  these 
different  names  by  those  different  persons,  so  one  God  is 
described  and  called  in  various  ways  according  to   the 


THE   SAYINGS.  IOI 

particular  aspect  in  which  He  appears  to  His  particular 

worshipper. 

9.  In  a  potter's  shop  there  are  vessels  of  different  shapes 
and    forms — pots,   jars,   dishes,   plates,  &c. — but  all   are 
made  of  one  clay.     So  God  is  one,  but  is  worshipped  in 
different  ages  and  climes  under  different  names  and  aspects. 

10.  God  is  one,  but  his  aspects  are  many.     One  and  the 
same  fish  may  be  made  to  taste  differently,  according  to  the 
different  modes  of  preparing  it,  so  one  God  is  enjoyed 
variously  (i.  e.  in  His  various  aspects)  by  His  devotees. 

11.  Man  is  like  a  pillow-case.    The  colour  of  one  may 
be  red,  another  blue,  another  black,  but  all  contain  the 
same  cotton.     So  it  is  with  man — one  is  beautiful,  one  is 
black,  another  is  holy,  a  fourth  wicked;  but  the  Divine 
dwells  in  them  all. 

12.  All  waters  are  brooded  over  by  Narayawa,  but  every 
kind  of  water  is  not  fit  for  drink.     Similarly,  though  it  is 
true  that  the  Almighty  dwells  in  every  place,  yet  every 
place  is  not  fit  to  be  visited  by  man.     As  one  kind  of 
water   may  be   used   for  washing  our  feet,  another  may 
serve  the  purpose  of  ablution,  and  others  may  be  drunk, 
and  others  again  may  not   be  touched  at  all ;  so  there 
are  different  kinds  of  places.     We  may  approach  some,  we 
can  enter  into  the  inside  of  others,  others  we  must  avoid, 
even  at  a  distance. 

13.  It  is  true  that  God  is  even  in  the  tiger,  but  we  must 
not  2.0  and  face  the  animal.    So  it  is  true  that  God  dwells 


102       THE  LIFE  AND  SAYINGS  OF  RAMAKIZ/SHJVA. 

even  in  the  most  wicked,  but  it  is  not  meet  that  we  should 
associate  with  the  wicked. 

14.  The  manifestation  of  the  Divinity  must  be  under- 
stood to  be  in  greater  degree  in  those  who  are  honoured, 
respected,  and  obeyed  by  a  large  following,  than  in  those 
who  have  gained  no  such  influence. 

15.  The  Master  said:  'Everything  that  exists  is  God.' 
The  pupil  understood  it  literally,  but  not  in  the  true  spirit. 
While  he  was  passing  through  a  street,  he  met  with  an 
elephant.    The  driver  (mahut)  shouted  aloud   from   his 
high  place,  *  Move  away,  move  away  ! '    The  pupil  argued 
in  his  mind,  '  Why  should  I  move  away  ?     I  am  God,  so 
is  the  elephant  also  God.    What  fear  has  God  of  Himself?' 
Thinking  thus  he  did  not  move.     At  last  the  elephant 
took  him  up  by  his  trunk,  and  dashed  him  aside.     He  was 
severely  hurt,  and  going  back  to  his  Master,  he  related  the 
whole  adventure.     The  Master  said,  'All  right,  you  are 
God.    The  elephant  is  God  also,  but  God  in  the  shape  of 
the  elephant-driver  was  warning  you  also  from  above.     Why 
did  you  not  pay  heed  to  his  warnings  ? ' 

16.  God,  His  scripture  (the  Bhagavata),  and  His  devotee 
are  all  to  be  regarded  as  one,  i.e.  in  one  and  the  same  light. 

17.  Every  being  is  Narayana.     Man  or  animal,  sage  or 
knave,  nay,  the  whole  universe,  is  Narayawa,  the  Supreme 
Spirit. 

18.  As  many  have  merely  heard  of  snow  but  not  seen 
it,  so  many  are  the  religious  preachers  who  have  read  only 
in  books  about  the  attributes  of  God,  but  have  not  realised 


THE   SAYINGS.  1 03 

them  in  their  lives.  And  as  many  may  have  seen  but  not 
tasted  it,  so  many  are  the  religious  teachers  who  have  got 
only  a  glimpse  of  Divine  Glory,  but  have  not  understood 
its  real  essence.  He  who  has  tasted  the  snow  can  say 
what  it  is  like.  He  who  has  enjoyed  the  society  of  God 
in  different  aspects,  now  as  a  servant,  now  as  a  friend,  now 
as  a  lover,  or  as  being  absorbed  in  Him,  &c.,  he  alone 
can  tell  what  are  the  attributes  of  God. 

19.  As   the  lamp  does  not  burn  without  oil,  so   man 
cannot  live  without  God. 

20.  The  human  body  is  like  a  boiling  pot,   and  the 
mind  and  the  senses  are  like  water,  rice  or  potato,  &c. 
in   it.     Put  the  pot  with  its   ingredients  on  the  fire ;   it 
will  be  so  hot  as  to  burn  your  finger  when  you  touch  it. 
But  the  heat  does  not  belong  to  the  pot,  nor  anything  con- 
tained in  it,  but  is  in  the  fire.     So  it  is  the  fire  of  Brahman 
in  man  that  causes  the  mind  and  the  senses  to  perform 
their  functions,  and  when  that  fire  ceases  to  act,  the  senses 
also,  or  the  organs,  stop. 

21.  Says   God,  '  I  am   the  snake  that   biteth  and   the 
charmer  that  healeth ;   I  am  the  judge  that  condemneth 
and  the  executioner  that  whippeth.' 

22.  God  tells  the  thief  to  go  and  steal,  and  at  the  same 
time  warns  the  householder  against  the  thief. 

23.  How  doth  the  Lord  dwell  in  the  body  ?    He  dwells 
in  the  body  like  the  plug  of  a  syringe,  i.  e.  in  the  body, 
and  yet  apart  from  it. 


104      THE  LIFE  AND  SAYINGS  OF  RAMAKK/SHJVA. 

24.  The  Lord  can  pass  an  elephant  through  the  eye  of 
a  needle.     He  can  do  whatever  He  likes. 

25.  As  fishes  playing  in  a  pond  covered  over  with  reeds 
and  scum  cannot  be  seen  from  outside,  so  God  plays  in 
the  heart  of  a  man  invisibly,  being  screened  by  Maya  from 
human  view. 

26.  A  man  sitting  under  the  shade  of  the  Kalpa-vrflcsha 
(wishing-tree)  wished  to  be  a  king,  and  in  an  instant  he 
was  a  king.     The  next  moment  he  wished  to  have  a  charm- 
ing damsel,  and  the  damsel  was  instantly  by  his  side.     The 
man  then   thought   within   himself,  if  a  tiger  came   and 
devoured  him,  and  alas  !  in  an  instant  he  was  in  the  jaws  of 
a  tiger  !     God  is  like  that  wishing-tree  :  whosoever  in  His 
presence  thinks  that  he  is  destitute  and  poor,  remains  as 
such,  but  he  who  thinks  and  believes  that  the  Lord  fulfils 
all  his  wants,  receives  everything  from  Him. 

27.  The  landlord  may  be  very  rich,  but  when  a  poor 
cultivator  brings  a  humble  present  to  him  with  a  loving 
heart,  he  accepts  it  with  the  greatest  pleasure  and  satis- 
faction. 

28.  While  a  bell  is  being  rung,  the  repeated  ding-dongs 
can  be  distinguished  one  from  the  other,  but  when  we 
stop  ringing,  then  an  undistinguishable  sound  only  remains 
audible.    We  can  easily  distinguish  one  note  from  the 
other,  as  if  each  distinct  note  had  a  certain  shape  j  but  the 
continued  and  unbroken  sound  when  the  ding-dongs  have 
ceased  is  undistinguishable,  as  if  formless.     Like  the  sound 
of  the  bell,  God  is  both  with  and  without  form. 


THE    SAYINGS.  10$ 

29.  As  a  boy  begins  to  learn  writing  by  drawing  big 
scrawls,  before  he  can  master  the  small-hand,  so  we  must 
learn  concentration  of  the  mind  by  fixing  it  first  on  forms ; 
and  when  we  have  attained  success  therein,  we  can  easily 
fix  it  upon  the  formless. 

30.  As  a  marksman  learns  to  shoot  by  first  taking  aim  at 
large  and  big  objects,  and  the  more  he  acquires  the  facility, 
the  greater  becomes  the  ease  with  which  he  can  shoot  at 
the   smaller  marks   on  the  target,  so  when  the  mind  has 
been  trained  to  be  fixed  on  images  having  form,  it  becomes 
easy  for  it  to  be  fixed  upon  images  having  no  form. 

31.  God  is  the  Absolute  and  Eternal  Brahman,  as  well 
as  the  Father  of  the  Universe.     The  indivisible  Brahman 
is  like  a  vast  shoreless  ocean,  without  bounds  and  limits,  *" 
in   which   I  'can   only  struggle  and  sink.      But   when   I 
approach  the  always  sportive  (active)  personal  Deity  (Hari), 

I  get  peace,  like  the  sinking  man  who  nears  the  shore. 

32.  God  is  formless,  and  is  with  form  too,  and  He  is 
that  which  transcends  both  form  and  formlessness.     He 
alone  can  say  what  else  He  is. 

33.  At  a  certain   stage   of  his  path   of  devotion,   the 
devotee  finds  satisfaction  in  God  with  form;  at  another 
stage,  in  God  without  form. 

34.  The  God  with  form  is  visible,  nay,  we  can  touch 
Him  face  to  face,  as  with  one's  dearest  friend. 

35.  As  at  one  time  I  am  clothed,  and  at  another  time 
naked,  so  Brahman  is  at  one  time  with  attributes  and  at 
another  without. 


106      THE  LIFE  AND  SAYINGS  OF  RAMAKJUSHJVA. 

36.  As  water  when  congealed  becomes  ice,  so  the  visible 
form  of  the  Almighty  is  the  materialised  manifestation  of 
the  all-pervading  formless  Brahman.     It  may  be  called, 
in  fact,  Sat-^it-ananda  solidified.    As  the  ice,  being  part 
and  parcel  of  the  water,  remains  in  the  water  for  a  time 
and  afterwards  melts  in  it,  so  the  Personal  God  is  part  and 
parcel  of  the  Impersonal.     He  rises  from  the  Impersonal, 
remains   there,  and    ultimately  merges    into  it  and  dis- 
appears. 

37.  His  name  is  Intelligence ;  His  abode  is  Intelligence 
too,  and  He,  the  Lord,  is  Intelligence  Himself. 

38.  Two  are  the  occasions  when  the  Lord  smiles.     First, 
when  brothers  remove  the  chains  which  partition  off  the 
family  property,  saying,  '  This  is  mine  and  that  is  thine ; ' 
and  secondly,  when  the  patient  is  on  the  point  of  death, 
and  the  physician  says,  '  I  will  cure  him.' 

39.  Lunatics,  drunkards,  and  children  sometimes  give 
out  the  truth  unconsciously,  as  if  inspired  by  Heaven. 

40.  The  sun  is  many  times  larger  than  the  earth,  but 
owing  to  the  great  distance  it  appears  like  a  small  disk.     So 
the  Lord  is  infinitely  great,  but  owing  to  our  being  too  far 
from  Him  we  fall  very,  very  short  of  comprehending  His 
real  greatness. 

41.  Knowingly  or  unknowingly,  consciously  or  uncon- 
sciously, in  whatever  state  we  utter  His  name,  we  acquire 
the  merit  of  such  utterance.     A  man  who  voluntarily  goes 
into  a  river  and  bathes  therein  gets  the  benefit  of  the  bath ; 


THE   SAYINGS.  1 07 

so  does  likewise  he  who  has  been  pushed  into  the  river  by 
another,  or  who  while  sleeping  soundly  has  water  thrown 
upon  him  by  another. 

42.  Satan  never  enters  the  house  wherein  are  always 
sung  the  praises  of  Hari. 

43.  A  king  having  committed  the  mortal  crime  of  killing 
a  Brahma^a,  went  to  the  hermitage  of  a  sage  to  learn  what 
penance  he  must  perform  in  order  to  be  purified.    The 
sage  was  absent  from  home,  but  his  son  was  there.     The 
son  hearing  the  case  of  the  king,  said,  '  Repeat  the  name 
of  God  (Rama)  three  times  and  your  sin  will  be  expiated.' 
When  the  sage  came  back  and  heard  the  penance  prescribed 
by  his  son,  he  said  to  him  in  great  wrath,  '  Sins  committed 
in  myriads  of  births  are  purged  at  once  by  but  once  uttering 
the  name  of  the  Almighty ;  how  weak  must  be  thy  faith, 
O  son,  that  thou  hast  ordered  that  name  to  be  repeated 
thrice !     For  this  offence  of  thine  go  and  become  a  K&n- 
*fala.'    And  the  son  became  the  Guhaka  JZandala.  of  the 
Ramayajza. 

44.  Consciously  or  unconsciously,  in  whatever  way  one 
falls   into  the  trough   of  nectar,  one  becomes  immortal. 
Similarly,  whosoever  utters  the  name  of  the  Deity  voluntarily 
or  involuntarily  finds  immortality  in  the  end. 

45.  As  a  large  and  powerful  steamer  moves  swiftly  over 
the  waters,  towing  rafts  and  barges  in  its  wake,  so  when 
a  Saviour  descends,  He  easily  carries  thousands  across  the 
ocean  of  Maya  (illusion). 


108      THE  LIFE  AND  SAYINGS  OF  RAMAK/J/SHJVA. 

46.  When    the    flood   comes,   it    overflows  rivers  and 
streams,  and  makes  one  watery  surface  of  all  adjacent 
lands.     But  the  rain-water  flows  away  through  fixed  chan- 
nels.   When  the  Saviour  becomes  incarnate,  all  are  saved 
through  His  grace.     The  Siddhas  (perfect  ones)  only  save 
themselves  with  much  pain  and  penance. 

47.  When  a  mighty  raft  of  wood  floats  down  a  stream,  it 
can  carry  a  hundred  men,  and  still  it  does  not  sink.    A  reed 
floating  down  may  sink  with  the  weight  of  even  a  crow. 
So  when  a  Saviour  becomes  incarnate,  innumerable  are  the 
men  who  find  salvation  by  taking  refuge  under  Him.     The 
Siddha  only  saves  himself  with  much  toil  and  trouble. 

48.  The  locomotive  engine  reaches  the  destination  itself, 
and  also  draws  and  takes  with  it  a  long  train  of  loaded 
wagons.     So  likewise  act  the  Saviours.     They  carry  multi- 
tudes of  men,  heavily  laden  with  the  cares  and  sorrows  of 
the  world,  to  the  feet  of  the  Almighty. 

49.  When  Bhagavan  Sri  Rama^andra  came  to  this  world, 
seven  sages  only  could  recognise  Him  to  be  the  God 
incarnate.    So  when  God  descends  into  this  world,  few  only 
can  recognise  His  Divine  nature. 

50.  On  the  tree  of  Sat-£it-ananda  there  are  innumerable 
Ramas,  Knshnas,  Christs,  &c. ;  one  or  two  of  them  come 
down  into  this  world  now  and  then,  and  produce  mighty 
changes  and  revolutions. 

5L  The  Avatara  or  Saviour  is  the  messenger  of  God. 
He  is  like  the  Viceroy  of  a  mighty  monarch.    As  when 


THE   SAYINGS.  1 09 

there  is  some  disturbance  in  a  far-off  province  the  king 
sends  his  viceroy  to  quell  it;  so  whenever  there  is  any 
waning  of  religion  in  any  part  of  the  world,  God  sends  His 
Avatara  there. 

52.  It  is  one  and  the  same  Avatara  that,  having  plunged 
into  the  ocean  of  life,  rises  up  in  one  place  and  is  known  as 
Krishna.,  and  diving  again  rises  in  another  place  and  is 
known  as  Christ. 

53.  In  some  seasons  water  can  be  obtained  from  the 
great  depths  of  the  wells  only  and  with  great  difficulty,  but 
when  the  country  is  flooded  in  the  rainy  season,  water  is 
obtained   with  ease   everywhere.      So  ordinarily,  God   is 
reached  with  great  pains  through  prayers  and  penances, 
but  when  the  flood  of  Incarnation  descends,  God  is  seen 
anywhere  and  everywhere. 

54.  A  Siddha-purusha  (perfect  one)  is  like  an  archaeo- 
logist who  removes  the  dust  and  lays  open  an  old  well 
which  was   covered   up   during  ages  of  disuse    by   rank 
growth.     The  Avatara,  on  the  other  hand,  is  like  a  great 
engineer  who  sinks  a  new  well  in  a  place  where  there  was 
no  water  before.     Great  men  can  give  salvation  to  those 
only  who  have  the  waters  of  piety  and  goodness  hidden 
in  themselves,  but  the  Saviour  saves  him  too  whose  heart 
is  devoid  of  all  love,  and  dry  as  a  desert. 

55.  Think   not  that  Rama,  Sita,  .Sri  Krishna,  Radha, 
Ar^una,   &c.,   were  not    historical  personages,    but   mere 
allegories,  or  that  the  Scriptures  have  an  inner  and  esoteric 
meaning  only.     Nay,  they  were  human  beings  of  flesh  and 


I IO      THE  LIFE  AND  SAYINGS  OF 

blood  just  as  you  are,  but  because  they  were  Divinities, 
their  lives  can  be  interpreted  both  historically  and  spiritually. 

56.  None  knoweth  the  immensity  of  the  sacrifice  which 
the  Godhead  maketh  when  it  becomes  incarnate  or  becomes 
flesh. 

67.  The  Saviours  are  to  Brahman  as  the  waves  are  to 
the  ocean. 

58.  What  is  the  state  which  a  Siddha  attains  ?  (A  perfect 
man    and    well-cooked    food    are    both    called    siddha. 
There  is  a  pun  here  on  the  word.)    As  potato  or  brinjal, 
&c.,  when  boiled  properly  (siddha),  becomes  soft  and  tender, 
so  when  a  man  reaches  perfection  (Siddha)  he  becomes  all 
humility  and  tenderness. 

59.  Five  are  the  kinds  of  Siddhas  found  in  this  world  : — 

(1)  The  Svapna  Siddhas  are  those  who  attain  perfection 
by  means  of  dream  inspiration. 

(2)  The  Mantra  Siddhas  are  those  who  attain  perfection 
by  means  of  any  sacred  mantra. 

(3)  The  Ha/tat  Siddhas  are  those  who  attain  perfection 
suddenly.     As  a  poor  man  may  suddenly  become  rich  by 
rinding  a  hidden  treasure,  or  by  marrying  into  a  rich  family, 
so  many  sinners  become  pure  all  of  a  sudden,  and  enter 
the  Kingdom  of  Heaven. 

(4)  The  Knpd  Siddhas  are  those  who  attain  perfection 
through  the  tangible  grace  of  the  Almighty,  as  a  poor  man 
is  made  wealthy  by  the  kindness  of  a  king. 

(5)  The  Nitya  Siddhas  are  those  who  are  ever-perfect. 
As  a  gourd  or  a  pumpkin-creeper  brings  forth  fruit  first  and 


THE   SAYINGS.  Ill 

then  its  flower,  so  the  ever-perfect  is  bom  a  Siddha,  and  all 
his  seeming  exertions  after  perfection  are  merely  for  the 
sake  of  setting  examples  to  humanity. 

60.  There  is  a  fabled  species  of  birds  called  'Homa,' 
which  live  so  high  up  in  the  heavens,  and  so  dearly  love 
those  regions,  that  they  never  condescend  to  come  down  to 
the  earth.     Even  their  eggs,  which,  when  laid  in  the  sky, 
begin  to  fall  down  to  the  earth  attracted  by  gravity,  are 
said  to  get  hatched  in  the  middle  of  their  downward  course 
and  give  birth  to  the  young  ones.    The  fledgelings  at  once 
find  out  that  they  are  falling  down,  and  immediately  change 
their  course  and  begin  to  fly  up  towards  their  home,  drawn 
thither  by  instinct.     Men  such  as   .Suka  Deva,   Narada, 
Jesus,  6a»zkara£arya  and  others,  are  like  those  birds,  who 
even  in  their  boyhood  give  up  all  attachments  to  the  things 
of  this  world  and  betake  themselves  to  the  highest  regions 
of  true  Knowledge  and  Divine  Light.    These  men  are 
called  Nitya  Siddhas. 

61.  The  Divine  sages  form,  as  it  were,  the  inner  circle  of 
God's  nearest  relatives.     They  are  like  friends,  companions, 
kinsmen  of  God.     Ordinary  beings  form  the  outer  circle  or 
are  the  creatures  of  God. 

62.  When  the  shell  of  an  ordinary  cocoa-nut  is  pierced 
through,  the  nail  enters  the  kernel  of  the  nut  too.     But  in 
the  case  of  the  dry  nut,  the  kernel  becomes  separate  from 
the  shell,  and  so  when  the  shell  is  pierced  the  kernel  is  not 
touched.     Jesus  was  like  the  dry  nut,  i.e.  His  inner  soul 


I  1 2      THE  LIFE  AND  SAYINGS  OF  RAMAKfl/SHJVA. 

was  separate  from  His  physical  shell,  and  consequently 
the  sufferings  of  the  body  did  not  affect  Him. 

63.  Once  a  holy  man,  while  passing  through  a  crowded 
street,  accidentally  trod  upon  the  toe  of  a  wicked  person. 
The  wicked  man,  furious  with  rage,  beat  the  Sadhu  merci- 
lessly, till  he  fell  to  the  ground  in  a  faint     His  disciples 
took  great  pains  and  adopted  various  measures  to  bring 
him  back  to  consciousness,  and  when  they  saw  that  he  had 
recovered  a  little,  one  of  them  asked,  '  Sir,  do  you  recognise 
who  is  attending  upon  you?'     The  Sadhu  replied,   'He 
who  beat  me.'    A  true  Sadhu  finds  no  distinction  between 
a  friend  and  a  foe. 

64.  The  swan  can  separate  the  milk  from  water;    it 
drinks  only  the  milk,  leaving  the  water  untouched.     Other 
birds  cannot  do  so.     Similarly  God  is  intimately  mixed  up 
with  Maya ;  ordinary  men  cannot  see  Him  separately  from 
Maya.    Only  the  Paramahamsa  (the  great  soul — here  is  a  pun 
on  the  word  'hawsa,'  which  means  both  soul  and  swan) 
throws  off  Maya,  and  takes  up  God  only. 

65.  The  wind  carries  the  smell  of  the  sandal- wood  as 
well  as  that  of  ordure,  but  does  not  mix  with  either. 
Similarly  a  perfect  man  lives  in  the  world,  but  does  not 
mix  with  it 

66.  A  perfect  man  is  like  a  lotus-leaf  in  the  water  or  like 
a  mud-fish  in  the  marsh.     Neither  of  these  is  polluted  by 
the  element  in  which  it  lives. 

67.  As  water  passes  under  a  bridge  but  never  stagnates, 


THE   SAYINGS.  113 

so  money  passes  through  the  hands  of  'The  Free'  who 
never  hoard  it. 

68.  As  a  rope  that  is  burnt  retains  its  shape  intact,  but 
has  become  all  ashes,  so  that  nothing  can  be  bound  with 
it ;  similarly,  the  man  who  is  emancipated  retains  the  form 
of  his  egoism,  but  not  an  idea  of  vanity  (Ahawkara). 

69.  As  an  aquatic  bird,  such  as  a  pelican,  dives  into 
water,  but  the  water  does  not  wet  its   plumage,  so  the 
perfect  man  lives  in  the  world,  but  the  world  does  not 
touch  him. 

70.  When  the  head  of  a  goat  is  severed  from  its  body, 
the  trunk  moves  about  for  some  time,  still  showing  the 
signs  of  life.     Similarly,  though  the  Aha/wkara  (vanity  or 
egoism)  is  beheaded  in  the  perfect  man,  yet  sufficient  of  its 
vitality  is  left  to  make  such  a  man  carry  on  the  functions  of 
physical  life ;  but  that  much  is  not  sufficient  to  bind  him 
again  to  the  world. 

71.  Ornaments  cannot  be  made  of  pure  gold.     Some 
alloy  must  be  mixed  with  it.     A  man  totally  devoid  of 
Maya  will  not  survive  more  than  twenty-one  days.     So  long 
as  the  man  has  body,  he  must  have  some  Maya,  however 
small  it  may  be,  to  carry  on  the  functions  of  the  body. 

72.  In  the  play  of  hide-and-seek,  if  the  player  once 
succeeds  in  touching  the  non-player,  called  the  grand-dame 
(Boori),  he  is  no  longer  liable  to  be  made  a  thief.    Similarly, 
by  once  seeing  the  Almighty,  a  man  is  no  longer  bound 
down  by  the  fetters  of  the  world.     The  boy,  by  touching 


I  14      THE  LIFE  AND  SAYINGS  OF  RAMAKK/SHtfA. 

the  Boor*,  is  free  to  go  wherever  he  wishes,  without  being 
pursued,  and  no  one  can  make  him  a  thief.  Similarly,  in 
this  world's  playground,  there  is  no  fear  to  him  who  has 
once  touched  the  feet  of  the  Almighty. 

73.  The  iron,  once  converted  into  gold  by  the  touch  of 
the  Philosopher's  stone,  may  be  kept  under  the  ground,  or 
thrown  into  a  rubbish-heap,  but  it  remains  always  gold,  and 
will  never  return  to  its  former  condition.     Similar  is  the 
case  with  him  who  has  once  touched  the  feet  of  the 
Almighty.     Whether  he  dwells  in  the  bustle  of  the  world, 
or  in  the  solitude  of  forests,  nothing  will  ever  contaminate 
him. 

74.  The  steel  sword  turns  into  a  golden  sword  by  the 
touch  of  the  Philosopher's  stone,  and  though  it  retains  its 
former  form  it  becomes  incapable  of  injuring  any  one. 
Similarly,  the  outward  form  of  a  man  who  has  touched  the 
feet  of  the  Almighty  is  not  changed,  but  he  no  longer 
doeth  any  evil. 

75.  The  loadstone  rock  under  the  sea  attracts  the  ship 
sailing  over  it,  draws  out  all  its  iron  nails,  separates  its 
planks,  and  sinks  the  vessel  into  the  deep.    Thus,  when  the 
human  soul  is   attracted  by  the  magnetism  of  Universal 
Consciousness,  the   latter  destroys   in   a   moment   all    its 
individuality  and  selfishness,  and  plunges  it  in  the  ocean 
of  God's  infinite  Love. 

76.  Milk  and  water,  when  brought  into  contact,  are  sure 
to  mix  so  that  the  milk  can  never  be  separated  again. 
So  if  the  neophyte,  thirsting  after  self-improvement,  mixes 


THE   SAYINGS.  115 

indiscriminately  with  all  sorts  of  worldly  men,  he  not  only 
loses  his  ideals,  but  his  former  faith,  love,  and  enthusiasm 
also  die  away  imperceptibly.  When,  however,  you  convert 
the  milk  into  butter,  it  no  longer  mixes  with  water,  but 
floats  over  it.  Similarly,  when  the  soul  once  attains  God- 
head, it  may  live  in  any  company,  without  ever  being 
affected  by  its  evil  influences. 

77.  So  long  as  no  child  is  born  to  her,  the  newly-married 
girl  remains  deeply  absorbed  in  her  domestic  duties.     But 
no  sooner  is  a  son  born,  than  she  leaves  off  all  her  house- 
hold concerns,  and  no  longer  finds  any  pleasure  in  them. 
On  the  contrary,  she  fondles  the  newborn  baby  the  livelong 
day,  and  kisses  it  with  intense  joy.     Thus  man,  in  his  state 
of  ignorance,  performs  all  sorts  of  worldly  works,  but  no 
sooner  does  he  see  the  Almighty,  than  he  finds  no  longer 
any  relish  in  them.     On  the  contrary,  his  happiness  now 
consists  only  in  serving  the  Deity  and  doing  His  works 
alone. 

78.  So  long  as  a  man  is  far  from  the  market,  he  hears 
aloud  and  indistinct  buzzing  only,  something  like  'Ho!  Ho!' 
But  when  he  enters  the  market  he  no  longer  hears  the 
uproar,  but  perceives  distinctly  that  some  one  is  bargaining 
for  potatoes,  another  for  Brinjal,  and  so  on.     As  long  as 
a  man  is  far  away  from  God,  he  is  in  the  midst  of  the  noise 
and  confusion  of  reason,  argument,  and  discussion;   but 
when  once  a  person  approaches  the  Almighty,  all  reasonings, 
arguments,  and  discussions  cease,  and  he  understands  the 
mysteries  of  God  with  vivid  and  clear  perception. 

I  2 


1 1 6      THE  LIFE  AND  SAYINGS  OF  RAMAKK/SHtfA. 

79.  So  long  as  a  man  calls  aloud,  '  Allah  Ho  !  Allah  Ho  ! ' 
(O  God  !  O  God  !),  be  sure  that  he  has  not  found  God,  for 
he  who  has  found  him  becomes  still. 

80.  So  long  as  the  bee  is  outside  the  petals  of  the  lotus, 
and  has  not  tasted  its  honey,  it  hovers  round  the  flower, 
emitting  its  buzzing  sound ;  but  when  it  is  inside  the  flower, 
it  drinks  its  nectar  noiselessly.     So  long  as  a  man  quarrels 
and  disputes  about  doctrines  and  dogmas,  he  has  not  tasted 
the  nectar  of  true  faith ;  when  he  has  tasted  it  he  becomes 
still. 

81.  Little  children  play  with  dolls  in  a  room  apart  just 
as  they  like,  but  as  soon  as  their  mother  comes  in  they 
throw  aside  the  dolls  and  run  to  her   crying,  'Mamma, 
Mamma  ! '    You  also  are  now  playing  in  this  world  deeply 
absorbed  with  the  dolls  of  wealth,  honour,  and  fame,  and 
have  no  fear  or  anxiety.     But  if  you  once  see  the  Divine 
Mother  entering  in,  you  will  not  find  pleasure  any  more  in 
wealth,  honour,  and  fame.     Leaving  off  all  these  you  will 
run  to  Her. 

82.  The  naked  Sage,  Totapuri,  used  to  say,  '  If  a  brass 
pot  be  not  rubbed  daily,  it  will  get  rusty.     So  if  a  man  does 
not  contemplate  the  Deity  daily,  his  heart  will  grow  impure.' 
To  him  .Sri  Ramakr;sh«a  replied,  *  Yes,  but  if  the  vessel  be 
of  gold,  it  does  not  require  daily  cleaning.    The  man  who 
has  reached  God  requires  prayers  or  penances  no  more.' 

83.  He  who  has  once  tasted  the  refined  and  crystalline 
sugar-candy,  finds  no  pleasure  in  raw  treacle ;  he  who  has 
slept  in  a  palace,  will  not  find  pleasure  in  lying  down  in 


THE   SAYINGS.  117 

a  dirty  hovel.  So  the  soul  that  has  once  tasted  the  sweet- 
ness of  the  Divine  Bliss  finds  no  delight  in  the  ignoble 
pleasures  of  the  world. 

84.  She  who  has  a  king  for  her  lover  will  not  accept  the 
homage  of  a  street  beggar.    So  the  soul  that  has  once  found 
favour  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord  does  not  want  the  paltry 
things  of  this  world.  • 

85.  When  a  man  is  in  the  plains  he  sees  the  lowly  grass 
and  the  mighty  pine-tree  and  says,  '  How  big  is  the  tree  and 
how  small  is  the  grass ! '     But  when  he  ascends  the  moun- 
tain and  looks  from  its  high  peak  to  the  plain  below,  the 
mighty  pine-tree  and  the  lowly  grass  blend  into  one  indistinct 
mass  of  green  verdure.      So  in  the  sight  of  worldly  men 
there  are  differences  of  rank  and  position,  but  when  the 
Divine  sight  is  opened  there  remains  no  distinction  of  high 
an    low. 

86.  When  water  is  poured  into  an  empty  vessel  a  bubbling 
noise  ensues,  but  when  the  vessel  is  full  no  such  noise  is 
heard.    Similarly,  the  man  wha  has  not  found  God  is  full  of 
vain  disputations.     But  when  he  has  seen  Him,  all  vanities 
disappear,  and  he  silently  enjoys  the  Bliss  Divine. 

87.  A  woman  naturally  feels  shy  to  relate  to  all  the  talk 
she  daily  has  with  her  husband,  save  to  her  own  companions. 
Similarly,  a  devotee  does  not  like  to  relate  to  any  one  but 
a  true  Bhakta  (devotee)  the  ecstatic  joys  which  he  experiences 
in  his  Divine  communion ;  nay,  sometimes  he  becomes  im- 
patient of  relating  his  experiences  even  to  those  of  his  own 
class. 


1  1 8      THE  LIFE  AND  SAYINGS  OF  RAMAKK/SH.YA. 

88.  The  moth  once  seeing  the  light  never  returns  to 
darkness ;  the  ant  dies  in  the  sugar-heap,  but  never  retreats 
therefrom.     Similarly,  a  good  devotee  gladly  sacrifices  his 
life  for  his  God  by  renunciation. 

89.  Why    does    the  God-lover  find    such   pleasure   in 
addressing    the    Deity    as    Mother  ?    Because    the  child 
is   more   free  with   its   mother,  and   consequently   she  is 
dearer  to  the  child  than  any  one  else. 

80.  The  pious  man,  like  a  hemp-smoker,  finds  no 
pleasure  in  singing  the  praises  of  the  Almighty  alone.  (The 
hemp-smoker  never  finds  pleasure  in  smoking  alone.) 

91.  If  a  strange  animal   enters  a   herd   of  cows,  it   is 
driven  off  by  the  combined  attacks  of  the  whole  herd.     But 
let  only  a  cow  enter,  and  all  the  other  cows  will  make 
friends  with  her  by  mutual  licking  of  bodies.     Thus,  when 
a  devotee  meets  with  another  devotee,  both  experience 
great  happiness  and  feel  loth  to  separate,  but  when  a  scoffer 
enters  the  circle  they  carefully  avoid  him. 

92.  What  is  the  strength  of  a  devotee  ?     He  is  a  child 
of  God,  and  tears  are  his  greatest  strength. 

93.  The  young  of  a  monkey  clasps   and  clings  to   its 
mother.     The  young  kitten  cannot  clasp  its  mother,  but 
mews  piteously  whenever  it  is  near  her.    If  the  young  monkey 
lets  go  its  hold  on  its  mother,  it  falls  down  and  gets  hurt. 
This  is  because  it  depends  upon  its  own  strength  ;  but  the 
kitten  runs  no  such  risk,  as  the  mother  herself  carries  it 
about  from  place  to  place.     Such  is  the  difference  between 
self-reliance  and  entire  resignation  to  the  will  of  God. 


THE   SAYINGS.  119 

04.  It  is  fabled  that  the  pearl  oyster  leaves  its  bed  at 
the  bottom  of  the  sea  and  comes  up  to  the  surface  to 
catch  the  rain-water  when  the  star  Svati  is  in  the  ascendant. 
It  floats  about  on  the  surface  of  the  sea  with  its  mouth 
agape,  until  it  succeeds  in  catching  a  drop  of  the  marvellous 
Svati-rain.  Then  it  dives  down  to  its  sea-bed  and  there 
rests,  till  it  has  succeeded  in  fashioning  a  beautiful  pearl 
out  of  that  rain-drop.  Similarly,  there  are  some  true  and 
eager  aspirants  who  travel  from  place  to  place  in  search  of 
that  watchword  from  a  godly  and  perfect  preceptor  (Sad- 
guru)  which  will  open  for  them  the  gate  of  eternal  bliss, 
and  if  in  their  diligent  search  one  is  fortunate  enough  to 
meet  such  a  Guru  and  get  from  him  the  much-longed-for 
logos  y  which  is  sure  to  break  down  all  fetters,  he  at  once 
retires  from  society,  enters  into  the  deep  recess  of  his  own 
heart  and  rests  there,  till  he  has  succeeded  in  gaining 
eternal  peace. 

95.  The  flint  may  remain  for  myriads  of  years  under 
water,  still  it  does  not  lose  its  inner  fire.    Strike  it  with 
iron  whenever  you  like  and  out  flows  the  glowing  spark. 
So  is  the  true  devotee  firm  in  his  faith.     Though  he  may 
remain  surrounded  by  all  the  impurities  of  the  world,  he 
never  loses  his  faith  and  love.     He  becomes  entranced  as 
soon  as  he  hears  the  name  of  the  Almighty. 

96.  The  Stone  may  remain  for  myriads  of  years  in  water, 
and  the  water  will  never  penetrate  it     But  clay  is  soon 
softened  into  mud  by  the  contact  of  water.     So  the  strong 
heart  of  the  faithful  does  not  despair  in  the  midst  of  trials 


I  2O      THE  LIFE  AND  SAYINGS  OF  RAMAK/Z/SHJVA. 

and  persecutions,   but  the  man  of  weak  faith   is  easily 
shaken  even  by  the  most  trifling  cause. 

97.  How  sweet  is  the  simplicity  of  the  child !  He  prefers 
a  doll  to  all  riches  and  wealth.     So  is  the  faithful  devotee. 
No  one  else  can  throw  aside  wealth  and  honour  to  take 
God  only. 

98.  God  is  like  unto  a  hill  of  sugar.     A  small  ant  carries 
away  from  it  a  small  grain  of  sugar,  the  bigger  ant  takes  from 
it  a  larger  grain.     But  the  hill  remains  as  large  as  before. 
So  are  the  devotees  of  God.     They  become  ecstatic  with 
even  a  grain  of  one  Divine  attribute.     No  one  can  contain 
within  him  all  His  attributes. 

99.  A   logician    once  asked   Sn   Ramaknsh«a,    'What 
are  knowledge,  knower,  and  the  object  known  ? '    To  which 
he  replied,  '  Good  man,  I  do  not  know  all  these  niceties  of 
scholastic  learning.     I  know  only  my  Mother  Divine,  and 
that  I  am  Her  son.' 

100.  A  man  who  finds  all  the  hairs  of  his  body  standing 
on  end  at  the  bare  mention  of  Sri  Hari's  name,  through 
sheer  ecstasy,  and  who  sheds  tears  of  love  on  hearing  the 
name  of  God,  he  has  reached  his  last  birth. 

10L  The  more  you  scratch  the  ringworm,  the  greater 
grows  the  itching,  and  the  more  pleasure  do  you  find  in 
scratching.  Similarly,  the  devotees  once  beginning  to  sing 
His  praises,  never  get  tired  of  it,  but  continue  for  hours 
and  hours  together. 

102.  When  grains  are  measured  out  to  the  purchaser  to 


THE   SAYINGS.  121 

the  granary  of  a  rich  merchant,  the  measurer  unceasingly 
goes  on  measuring,  while  the  attending  women  supply  him 
with  basket-fulls  of  grain  from  the  main  store.  The  mea- 
surer does  not  leave  his  seat,  while  the  women  incessantly 
supply  him  with  grain.  But  a  small  grocer  has  neither 
such  attendants,  nor  is  his  store  so  inexhaustible.  Similarly, 
it  is  God  Himself  who  is  constantly  inspiring  thoughts  and 
sentiments  in  the  hearts  of  His  devotees,  and  that  is  the 
reason  why  the  latter  are  never  in  lack  of  new  and  wise 
thoughts  and  sentiments;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  the 
book-learned,  like  petty  grocers,  soon  find  that  their 
thoughts  have  become  exhausted. 

103.  A  born  farmer  does  not  leave  off  tilling  the  soil, 
though  it  may  not  rain  for  twelve  consecutive  yearsj  while 
a  merchant  who  has  but  lately  taken  himself  to  the  plough 
is  discouraged  by  one  season  of  drought.     The  true  believer 
is  never  discouraged,  if  even  with  his  lifelong  devotion  he 
fails  to  see  God. 

104.  A  true  devotee  who  has  drunk  deep  of  the  Divine 
Love  is  like  a  veritable  drunkard,  and,  as  such,  cannot 
always  observe  the  rules  of  propriety. 

105.  Dala  (sedge)  does   not  grow  in   large  and  pure 
water-tanks,  but  in  small  stagnant  and  miasmatic  pools. 
Similarly,  Dala  (schism)  does  not  take  place  in  a  party 
whose  adherents  are  guided  by  pure,  broad,  and  unselfish 
motives,  but  it  takes  firm  root  in  a  party  whose  advocates 
are  given  to  selfishness,  insincerity,  and  bigotry.     ('  Dala,' 
in  Bengali,  means  both  sedges  and  schism.) 


122      THE  LIFE  AND  SAYINGS  OF  RAMAK/Z/SH.YA. 

106.  The  Yogins  and  Sawyasins  are  like  snakes.     The 
snake  never  digs  a  hole  for  itself,  but  it  lives  in  the  hole 
made  by  the  mouse.    When  one  hole  becomes  uninhabit- 
able, it  enters  into  another  hole.     So  the  Yogins  and  the 
Sawyasins  make  no  houses  for  themselves ;  they  pass  their 
days  in  other  men's  houses — to-day  in  one  house,  to-morrow 
in  another. 

107.  The  sage  alone  can  recognise  a  sage.     He  who 
deals  in  cotton  twists  can  alone  tell  of  what  number  and 
quality  a  particular  twist  is  made. 

108.  A  sage  was  lying  in  a  deep  trance  (Samadhi)  by 
a  roadside ;  a  thief  passing  by,  saw  him,  and  thought  within 
himself,  'This  fellow,  lying  here,  is  a  thief.     He  has  been 
breaking  into  some  house  by  night,  and  now  sleeps  ex- 
hausted.    The  police  will  very  soon  be  here  to  catch  him. 
So  let  me  escape  in  time.'    Thus  thinking,  he  ran  away. 
Soon  after  a  drunkard  came  upon  the  sage,   and  said, 
'  Hallo !  thou  hast  fallen  into  the  ditch  by  taking  a  drop 
too  much.     I  am  steadier  than  thou,  and  am  not  going 
to  tumble.'    Last  of  all  came  a  sage,  and  understanding 
that  a  great  sage  was  in  a  trance  (Samadhi),  he  sat  down, 
and  touched  him,  and  began  to  rub  gently  his  holy  feet 

100.  An  itinerant  Sadhu  came  once  upon  the  Kali 
temple  of  Rani  Rasamam,  and  seeing  a  dog  eating  the 
remains  of  a  feast,  he  went  up  to  him  and  said,  embracing 
him,  '  Brother,  how  is  it  that  thou  eatest  alone,  without 
giving  me  a  share  ? '  So  saying,  he  began  to  eat  along 
with  the  dog.  The  people  of  the  place  naturally  thought 


THE   SAYINGS.  1 23 

him  mad,  but  when  standing  before  the  temple  of  the 
Goddess,  he  began  to  chant  forth  some  hymns  in  praise  of 
Kali,  and  the  temple  appeared  to  shake  through  the  fervour 
of  his  devotion.  Then  the  people  knew  him  to  be  a  great 
Sadhu.  The  true  Sadhus  roam  about  like  children  or  mad 
men,  in  dirty  clothes,  and  various  other  disguises. 

110.  The  true  religious   man  is  he  who   does   not   do 
anything  wrong  or  act  impiously  when  he  is  alone,  i.  e. 
when  there  is  none  to  look  after  and  blame  him. 

111.  In  the  Bengali  alphabet  no  three  letters  are  alike 
in  sound  except  the  three  sibilants  (6a,  sha,  and  sa),  all 
meaning  'forbear,'  'forbear,'  'forbear.'    This  shows  that 
even  from  our  childhood  we  are  made  to  leam  forbear- 
ance in  our  very  alphabets.     The  quality  of  forbearance 
is  of  the  highest  importance  to  every  man. 

112.  Sugar  and  sand  may  be  mixed  together,  but  the  ant 
rejects  the  sand  and  goes  off  with  the  sugar-grain ;  so  pious 
men  sift  the  good  from  the  bad. 

113.  It  is  the  nature  of  the  winnowing  basket  to  reject 
the  bad  and  keep  the  good;  even  such  is  the  case  with 
pious  men. 

114.  He  is  truly  a  pious  man  who  is  dead  even  in  life, 
i.  e.  whose  passions  and  desires  have  been  all  destroyed  as 
in  a  dead  body. 

115.  Worldly  persons  perform  many  pious  and  charitable 
acts  with  a  hope  of  worldly  rewards,  but  when  misfortune, 
sorrow,  and  poverty  approach  them,  they  forget  them  all. 


124      THE  LIFE  AND  SAYINGS  OF  RAMAKK/SKtfA. 

They  are  like  the  parrot  that  repeats  the  Divine  name 
'  Radha-Knsh«a,  Radha-Kr/srma '  the  livelong  day,  but 
cries  'Kaw,  Kaw'  when  caught  by  a  cat,  forgetting  the 
Divine  name. 

116.  A  spring  cushion  is  squeezed  down  when  one  sits 
upon  it,  but  it  soon  resumes  its  original  shape  when  the 
pressure  is  removed.     So  it  is  with  worldly  men.     They 
are  full  of  religious  sentiments,  so  long  as  they  hear  religious 
talks ;  but  no  sooner  do  they  enter  into  the  daily  routine 
of  the  world,  than  they  forget  all  those  high  and  noble 
thoughts,  and  become  as  impure  as  before. 

117.  So  long  as  the  iron  is  in  the  furnace  it  is  red-hot, 
but  it  becomes  black  as  soon  as  it  is  taken  out  of  the  fire. 
So  also  is  the  worldly  man.     As  long  as  he  is  in  church  or 
in  the  society  of  pious  people,  he  is  full  of  religious  emo- 
tions, but  no  sooner  does  he  come  out  of  those  associations 
than  he  loses  them  all 

118.  Some  one  said,  '  When  my  boy  Harish  grows  up, 
I  will  get  him  married,  and  give  him  the  charge  of  the 
family;   I   shall  then  renounce  the  world,  and  begin   to 
practise  Yoga.'     At  this  a   Sadhu    remarked,    'You   will 
never  find  any  opportunity  of  practising  Yoga  (devotion). 
You  will  say  afterwards,  "  Harish  and  Girish  are  too  much 
attached  to  me.    They  do  not  like  to  leave  my  company 
as  yet."    Then  you  will  desire  perhaps,  "  Let  Harish  have 
a  son,  and  let  me  see  that  son  married."    And  thus  there 
will  be  no  end  of  your  desires.' 

110.  Flies  sit  at  times  on  the  sweetmeats  kept  exposed 


THE   SAYINGS.  125 

for  sale  in  the  shop  of  a  confectioner ;  but  no  sooner  does 
a  sweeper  pass  by  with  a  basket  full  of  filth  than  the  flies 
leave  the  sweetmeats  and  sit  upon  the  filth-basket.  But 
the  honey-bee  never  sits  on  filthy  objects,  and  always 
drinks  honey  from  the  flowers.  The  worldly  men  are  like 
flies.  At  times  they  get  a  momentary  taste  of  Divine 
sweetness,  but  their  natural  tendency  for  filth  soon  brings 
them  back  to  the  dunghill  of  the  world..  The  good  man,  on 
the  other  hand,  is  always  absorbed  in  the  beatific  con- 
templation of  Divine  Beauty. 

N.B.  The  worldly  man  is  like  a  filthy  worm  that  always 
lives  and  dies  in  filth,  and  has  no  idea  of  higher  things ; 
the  good  man  of  the  world  is  like  the  fly  that  sits  now  on 
the  filth  and  now  on  the  sweet ;  while  the  free  soul  of 
a  Yogin  is  like  the  bee  that  always  drinks  the  honey  of 
God's  holy  presence,  and  nothing  else. 

120.  When  it  was  argued  that  a  family-man  (Gr/hastha) 
may  remain  in  the  family,  but  may  have  no  concern  with 
it,  and  consequently  may  remain  uncontaminated  by  the 
world,  an  illustration  was  cited  to  refute  such  an  argument, 
which  is  as  follows  : — 

A  poor  Brahma»a  once  came  to  one  of  those  family- 
men,  who  are  unconcerned  with  family  affairs,  to  beg  some 
money.  When  the  beggar  asked  of  him  some  money,  he 
replied,  '  Sir,  I  never  touch  money.  Why  are  you  wasting 
your  time  in  begging  of  me?'  The  Brahma«a,  however, 
would  not  go  away.  Tired  with  his  importunate  entreaties 
the  man  at  last  resolved  in  his  mind  to  give  him  a  rupee, 


126      THE  LIFE  AND  SAYINGS  OF  RAMAK/2/SHtfA. 

and  told  him,  '  Well,  sir,  come  to-morrow,  I  shall  see  what 
I  can  do  for  you.'  Then  going  in,  this  typical  family-man 
told  his  wife,  who  was  the  manager  of  all  his  affairs,  he 
being  unconcerned,  'Look  here,  dear,  a  poor  Brahmana 
is  in  great  difficulty,  and  wants  something  of  me.  I  have 
made  up  my  mind  to  give  him  a  rupee.  What  is  your 
opinion  about  it?'  'Aha!  what  a  generous  fellow  you 
are !'  she  replied,  in  great  excitement  at  the  name  of  a 
rupee.  '  Rupees  are  not,  like  leaves  or  stones,  to  be  thrown 
away  without  any  thought.'  'Well,  dear,'  replied  the  hus- 
band, in  an  apologising  tone,  '  the  man  is  very  poor  and 
we  should  not  give  him  less  than  a  rupee.'  'No !'  replied 
the  wife,  '  I  cannot  spare  that  much ;  here  is  a  two-anna-bit 
and  you  can  give  him  that,  if  you  like.'  The  man  of 
course  had  no  other  alternative,  being  himself  unconcerned 
in  all  such  worldly  matters,  and  he  took  what  his  wife 
gave  him.  Next  day  the  beggar  came,  and  received  only 
a  two-anna-bit.  Such  uncontaminated  family-men  are 
really  henpecked  persons  who  are  solely  guided  by  their 
wives,  and  as  such  are  very  poor  specimens  of  humanity. 

121.  Seeing  the  water  pass  glittering  through  the  net 
of  bamboo  frame-work1,  the  small  fry  enter  into  it  with 
great  pleasure,  and  having  once  entered  they  cannot  get 
out  again — and  are  caught.  Similarly,  foolish  men  enter 
into  the  world  allured  by  its  false  glitter,  but  as  it  is  easier 
to  enter  the  net  than  to  get  out  of  it,  it  is  easier  to  enter  the 
world  than  renounce  it,  after  having  once  entered  it. 

1  A  trap  for  catching  small  fish. 


THE    SAYINGS.  127 

122.  Men  always  quote  the  example  of  the  king  Canaka, 
as  that  of  a  man  who  lived  in  the  world  and  yet  attained 
perfection.     But  throughout  the  whole  history  of  mankind 
there  is  only  this  solitary  example.     His  case  was  not  the 
rule,  but  the  exception.     The  general  rule  is  that  no  one 
can  attain  spiritual  perfection  unless  he  renounces  lust  and 
greed.     Do  not  think  yourself  to   be  a    kanaka.     Many 
centuries  have  rolled  away  and  the  world  has  not  produced 
another  kanaka. 

123.  This  world  is  like  a  stage,  where  men  perform  many 
parts  under  various  disguises.    They  do  not  like  to  take 
off  the  mask,  unless  they  have  played  for  some  time.     Let 
them  play  for  a  while,  and  then  they  will  leave  off  the  mask 
of  their  own  accord. 

124.  The  heart  of  the  devotee  is  like  a  dry  match ;  and 
the   slightest  mention  of  the  name  of  the  Deity  kindles 
the  fire  of  love  in  his  heart.     But  the  mind  of  the  worldly, 
soaked   in   lust  and  greed,  is  like  the  moist  match,  and 
can  never  be  heated  to  enthusiasm,  though  God  may  be 
preached  to  him  innumerable  times. 

125.  A  worldly  man  may  be  endowed  with  intellect  as 
great  as  that  of  (kanaka,  may  take  as   much  pains  and 
trouble  as   a  Yogin,  and   make  as  great  sacrifices  as  an 
ascetic ;  but  all  these  he  makes  and  does,  not  for  God,  but 
for  worldliness,  honour,  and  wealth. 

128.  As  water  does  not  enter  into  a  stone,  so  religious 
advice  produces  no  impression  on  the  heart  of  a  worldly 
man. 


128      THE  LIFE  AND  SAYINGS  OF  RAM AKR7SHVA. 

127.  As  a  nail  cannot  enter  into  a  stone,  but  can  easily 
be  driven  into  the  earth,  so  the  advice  of  the  pious  does 
not  affect  the  soul  of  a  worldly  man.     It  enters  into  the 
heart  of  a  believer. 

128.  As  soft  clay  easily  takes  an  impression,  but  not  so 
a  stone,  so  also  the  Divine  Wisdom  impresses  itself  on 
the  heart  of  the  devotee,  but  not  on  the  soul  of  the  worldly 
man, 

129.  The  characteristic  of  a  thoroughly  worldly  man  is 
that  he  does  not  only  not  listen  to  hymns,  religious  dis- 
courses, praises  of  the  Almighty,  &c.,  but  also  prevents 
others  from  hearing  them,  and  abuses  religious  men  and 
societies,  and  scoffs  at  prayers. 

130.  The  alligator  has  got  such  a  thick  and  scaly  hide 
that  no  weapons  can  pierce  it ;   on  the  contrary,  they  fall 
off  harmless.     So,  howmuchsoever  you  may  preach  religion 
to  a  worldly  man,  it  will  have  no  effect  upon  his  heart. 

131.  As  the  water  enters  in  on  one  side  under  the  bridge, 
and  soon  passes  out  on  the  other,  so  religious  advice  affects 
worldly  souls.     It  enters  into  them  by  one  ear  and  goes 
out  by  the  other,  without  making  any  impression  upon 
their  minds. 

132.  By  talking  with  a  worldly  man  one  can  feel  that 
his  heart  is  filled  with  worldly  thoughts  and  desires,  even 
as  the  crop  of  a  pigeon  is  filled  with  grains. 

133.  So  long  as  the  fire  is  beneath,  the  milk  boils  and 
bubbles.    Remove  the  fire  and  it  is  quiet  again.     So  the 


THE    SAYINGS.  129 

heart  of  the  neophyte  boils  with  enthusiasm,  so  long  as 
he  goes  on  with  his  spiritual  exercises,  but  afterwards  it 
cools  down. 

134.  As   to  approach  a  monarch   one   must   ingratiate 
oneself  with  the  officials  that  keep  the  gate  and  surround 
the  throne,  so   to  reach  the  Almighty  one  must  practise 
many  devotions,  as  well  as  serve  many  devotees  and  keep 
the  company  of  the  wise. 

135.  Keep   thy   own   sentiments  and   faith    to    thyself. 
Do  not  talk  about  them  abroad.     Otherwise  thou  wilt  be 
a  great  loser. 

136.  There   are  three   kinds  of  dolls;   the  first  made 
of  salt,  the  second  made  of  cloth,  and  the  third  made  of 
stone.     If  these  dolls  be  immersed  in  water,  the  first  will 
get  dissolved  and  lose  its  forrn,  the  second  will  absorb 
a  large  quantity  of  water  but  retain  its  form,  while  the 
third   will   be   impervious   to   the   water.      The  first  doll 
represents  the  man  who  merges  his  self  in  the  Universal 
and  All-pervading  Self  and  becomes  one  with  it,  that  is 
the  'Mukta  purusha';   the  second  represents  a  true  lover 
or  Bhakta,  who  is  full  of  Divine  bliss  and  knowledge ;  and 
the  third  represents  a  worldly  man,  who  will  not  absorb 
the  least  drop  of  true  knowledge. 

137.  As  when  fishes  are  caught  in  a  net  some  do  not 
struggle  at  all,  some  again  struggle  hard  to  come  out  of 
the  net,  while  a  few  are  happy  enough  to  effect  their  escape 
by  rending  the  net;  so  there  are  three  sorts  of  men, 

K 


I  30   THE  LIFE  AND  SAYINGS  OF  RAMAKK/SIWA. 

viz.  fettered  (Baddha),  wriggling  (Mumukshu),  and  released 
(Mukta). 

138.  As  sieves  separate  the  finer  and  coarser  parts  of 
a  pulverized  or  ground  substance,  keeping  the  coarser  and 
rejecting  the  finer,  even  so  the  wicked  man  takes  the  evil 
and  rejects  the  good. 

139.  Two  men  went  into  a  garden.     The  worldly-wise 
man  no  sooner  entered  the  gate  than  he  began  to  count 
the  number  of  the  mango-trees,  how  many  mangoes  each 
tree  bore,  and  what  might  be  the  approximate  price  of 
the  whole  orchard.     The  other  went  to  the  owner,  made 
his   acquaintance,  and   quietly  going   under  a  mango-tree 
began  to  pluck  the  fruit  and  eat  it  with  the  owner's  con- 
sent.    Now  who  is  the  wiser  of  the  two?     Eat  mangoes, 
it  will  satisfy  your  hunger.     What  is  the  good  of  counting 
the  leaves  and  making  vain  calculations?     The  vain  man 
of  intellect  is  uselessly  busy  in  finding  out  the  '  why  and 
wherefore'  of  creation,  while  the  humble  man  of  wisdom 
makes  acquaintance  with  the  Creator  and  enjoys  Supreme 
Bliss  in  this  world. 

140.  The  vulture  soars  high  up  in  the  air,  but  all  the 
while   he  is  looking  down  into  the  charnel-pits  in  search 
of  putrid  carcasses.     So  the  book-read  pandits  speak  glibly 
and  volubly  about  Divine  Knowledge,  but  it  is  all  mere 
talk,  for  all  the  while  their  mind  is  thinking  about  how  to 
get  money,  respect,  honour,  power,  &c.,  the  vain  guerdon 
of  their  learning. 

141.  Once  a  dispute  arose  in  the  court  of  the  Maharajah 


THE   SAYINGS.  131 

of  Burdwan  among  the  learned  men  there,  as  to  who  was 
the  greater  Deity,  Siva,  or  Vishnu.  Some  gave  preference 
to  .Siva,  others  to  Vishmi.  When  the  dispute  grew  hot 
a  wise  pandit  remarked,  addressing  the  Raja,  '  Sire,  I  have 
neither  met  .Siva  nor  seen  Vishnu;  how  can  I  say  who 
is  the  greater  of  the  two?'  At  this  the  dispute  stopped, 
for  none  of  the  disputants  really  had  seen  the  Deities. 
Similarly  none  should  compare  one  Deity  with  another. 
When  a  man  has  really  seen  a  Deity,  he  comes  to  know 
that  all  the  Deities  are  manifestations  of  one  and  the  same 
Brahman. 

142.  As  the  elephant  has  two  sets  of  teeth,  the  external 
tusks  and  the  inner  grinders,  so  the  God-men,  like   Sri 
Kr/sh«a,  &c.,  act  and   behave   to    all    appearances    like 
common  men,  while  their  heart  and  soul  rest  far  beyond 
the  pale  of  Karman. 

143.  The  Sadhu  who  distributes  medicines,  and  uses  in- 
toxicants, is  not  a  proper  Sadhu ;  avoid  the  company  of  such. 

144.  A  Brahmana  was  laying  down  a  garden,  and  looked 
after  it  day  and  night.     One  day  a  cow  straying  into  the 
garden  browsed  away  a  mango  sapling  which  was  one  of 
the  most  carefully-watched  trees  of  the  Brahmana.     The 
Brahma/za  seeing  the  cow  destroy  his  favourite  plant  gave 
it  such  a  sound  beating  that  it  died  of  the  injuries  received. 
The  news  soon  spread  like  wildfire  that  the  Brahma^a 
killed  the  sacred  animal. 

Now  the  Brahmawa  was  a  so-called  Vedantist,  and  when 
taxed   with  the  sin   denied  it,  saying, — 'No,  I  have  not 

K  2 


132    THE  LIFE  AND  SAYINGS  OF  RAMAK/2/SHJVA. 

killed  the  cow;  it  is  my  hand  that  has  done  it,  and  as 
Indra  is  the  presiding  Deity  of  the  hand,  so  if  any  one  has 
incurred  the  guilt  of  killing  the  cow,  it  is  Indra  and  not  I.' 

Indra  in  his  Heaven  heard  all  this,  assumed  the  shape 
of  an  old  Brahmana,  came  to  the  owner  of  the  garden,  and 
said,  '  Sir,  whose  garden  is  this  ?' 

Brahmaxta — '  Mine.' 

Indra — 'It  is  a  beautiful  garden.  You  have  got  a 
skilful  gardener,  for  see  how  neatly  and  artistically  he 
has  planted  the  trees ! ' 

Brahma/ra — '  Well,  sir,  that  is  also  my  work.  The  trees 
are  planted  under  my  personal  supervision  and  direction.' 

Indra — '  Indeed  !  O,  you  are  very  clever.  But  who  has 
laid  out  this  road?  It  is  very  ably  planned  and  neatly 
executed.' 

Brahma«a — '  All  this  has  been  done  by  me.' 

Then  Indra  with  joined  hands  said,  'When  all  these 
things  are  yours,  and  you  take  credit  for  all  the  works 
done  in  this  garden,  it  is  hard  lines  for  poor  Indra  to  be 
held  responsible  for  the  killing  of  the  cow.' 

145.  If  thou  art  in  right  earnest  to  be  good  and  perfect, 
God  will  send  the  true  and  proper  Master  (Sad-Guru)  to 
thee.     Earnestness  is  the  only  thing  necessary. 

146.  As  when  going  to  a  strange  country,  one  must  abide 
by  the  directions  of  him  who  knows  the  way,  while  taking 
the  advice  of  many  may  lead  to  confusion,  so  in  trying  to 
reach  God  one  should  follow  implicitly  the  advice  of  one 
single  Guru  who  knows  the  way  to  God. 


THE   SAYINGS.  133 

147.  Whoever  can  call  on  the  Almighty  with  sincerity 
and  intense  earnestness  needs  no  Guru.     But  such  a  man 
is  rare,  hence  the  necessity  of  a  Guru  or  Guide.    The  Guru 
should  be  only  one,  but  Upagurus  (assistant  Gurus)  may  be 
many.    He  from  whom  any  thing  whatsoever  is  learned  is  an 
Upaguru.    The  great  Avadhuta  had  twenty-four  such  Gurus. 

148.  Many   roads    lead    to   Calcutta.     A  certain   man 
started  from  his  home  in   a  distant  village  towards   the 
metropolis.     He  asked  a  man  on  the  road,  'What  road 
must  I  take  to  reach   Calcutta  soon?'     The  man  said, 
'Follow  this   road.'     Proceeding  some  distance,   he  met 
another  man  and  asked  him,  '  Is  this  the  shortest  road  to 
Calcutta?'     The  man  replied,  'O,  no!  You  must  retrace 
your  footsteps  and  take  the  road  to  your  left.'    The  man 
did  so.     Going  in  that  new  road  for  some  distance  he  met 
a  third  man  who  pointed  him  out  another  road  to  Calcutta. 
Thus  the  traveller  made  no  progress,  but  spent  the  day  in 
changing  one  road  for  another.     As  he  wanted  to  reach 
Calcutta  he  should  have  stuck  to  the  road  pointed  out  to 
him  by  the  first  man.     Similarly  those  who  want  to  reach 
God  must  follow  one  and  one  only  Guide. 

149.  The  disciple  should  never  criticise  his  own  Guru. 
He  must  implicitly  obey  whatever  his  Guru  says.     Says 
a  Bengali  couplet : 

Though  my  Gum  may  visit  tavern  and  still, 
My  Guru  is  holy  Rai  Nityananda  still. 

150.  The  Guru  is   a   mediator.     He  brings  man  and 
God  together. 


134   THE  LIFE  AND  SAYINGS  OF  RAMAKfi/SHJVA. 

151.  Take  the  pearl  and  throw  the   oyster-shell   away. 
Follow  the  mantra  (advice)  given  thee  by  thy  Guru  and 
throw  out  of  consideration  the  human   frailties   of   thy 
teacher. 

152.  Listen  not,  if  any  one  criticises  and  censures  thy 
Guru.     Leave  his  presence  at  once. 

153.  As  the  moon  is  the  uncle  of  every  child,  so  God 
is  the  Father  and  Guide  of  the  whole  Humanity.     (The 
children  in  Bengal  call  the  moon  their  '  maternal  uncle.') 

154.  A  disciple,  having  firm  faith  in  the  infinite  power 
of  his  Guru,  walked  over  a  river  even  by  pronouncing  his 
name.      The   Guru,   seeing  this,  thought   within   himself, 
'Well,  is  there  such  a  power  even  in  my  name?    Then 
I  must  be  very  great  and  powerful,  no  doubt ! '    The  next 
day  he  also  tried  to  walk  over  the  river  pronouncing  '  I,  I,  I,' 
but  no  sooner  had  he  stepped  into  the  waters  than  he  sank 
and  was  drowned.    Faith  can  achieve  miracles,  while  vanity 
or  egoism  is  the  death  of  man. 

155.  Gurus  can  be  had  by  hundreds,  but  good  Chelas 
(disciples)  are  very  rare. 

156.  It  is  easy  to  utter  cdo,  re,  mi,  fa,  sol,  la,  si,'  by 
mouth,  but  not  so  easy  to  sing  or  play  them  on  any  instru- 
ment   So  it  is  easy  to  talk  religion,  but  it  is  difficult  to  act 
religion. 

157.  Common  men  talk  bagfuls  of  religion,  but  act  not 
a  grain  of  it,  while  the  wise  man  speaks  little,  but  his  whole 
life  is  a  religion  acted  out. 


THE   SAYINGS.  135 

158.  What  you  wish  others  to  do,  do  yourself. 

159.  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  that  he  who  yearns 
for  God,  finds  Him. 

160.  The  petals  of  the  lotus  drop  off  in  time,  but  they 
leave  scars  behind.    So  when  true  knowledge  comes  egoism 
goes  off,  but  its  traces  remain.     These,  however,  are  not  at 
all  active  for  evil. 

161.  There  are  two  Egos  in  man,  one  ripe  and  the  other 
unripe.     The  ripe  Ego  thinks,  '  Nothing  is  mine ;  whatever 
I  see,  or  feel,  or  hear,  nay,  even  this  body  is  not  mine,  I  am 
always  free  and  eternal.'     The  unripe  Ego,  on  the  contrary, 
thinks,  '  This  is  my  house,  my  room,  my  child,  my  wife,  my 
body,  &c.' 

162.  The  cup  in  which  garlic  juice  is  kept  retains  the 
nasty  odour,  though  it  may  be  rubbed  and  scoured  hundreds 
of  times.     Egohood  also  is  such  an  obstinate  creature.    It 
never  leaves  us  completely. 

163.  The  leaves  of  the  cocpa-palm  fall  off,  but  leave  still 
their  marks  behind  on  the  trunk.     Similarly,  so  long  as  one 
has  this  body,  there  will  remain  the  mark  of  egoism,  how 
high  soever  a  man  may  advance  in  spirituality.     But  these 
traces  of  egoism  do  not  bind  such  men  to  the  world  nor 
cause  their  re-birth. 

164.  The  sun  can  give  heat  and  light  to  the  whole  world, 
but  it  can  do  nothing  when  the  clouds  are  in  the  sky  and 
shut  out  its  rays.   Similarly,  so  long  as  egoism  is  in  the  soul, 
God  cannot  shine  upon  the  heart. 


136    THE  LIFE  AND  SAYINGS  OF  RAMAK/J7SHATA. 

165.  Vanity  is  like  a  heap  of  rubbish  or  ashes  on  which 
the  water,  as  soon  as  it  falls,  dries  away.     Prayers  and 
contemplations  produce  no  effect  upon  the  heart  puffed 
up  with  vanity. 

166.  Of  all  the  birds  of  the  air  the  crow  is  considered  to 
be  the  wisest,  and  he  thinks  himself  so  too.     He  never  falls 
into  a  snare.    He  flies  off  at  the  slightest  approach  of  danger, 
and  steals  the  food  with  the  greatest  dexterity.     But  all  this 
wisdom  can  supply  him  with  no  better  living  than  filth  and 
foul  matter.     This  is  the  result  of  his  having  the  wisdom  of 
the  pettifogger. 

167.  Once  upon  a  time  conceit  entered  the  heart  of  the 
Divine  Sage  Narada,  and  he  thought  there  was  no  greater 
devotee  than  himself.     Reading  his  heart,   the  Lord  Sri 
Vish«u  said,  '  Narada,  go  to  such  and  such  a  place,  there  is 
a  great  Bhakta  of  mine  there,  and  cultivate  his  acquaint- 
ance.'    Narada  went  there  and  found  an  agriculturist,  who 
rose  early  in  the  morning,  pronounced  the  name  of  Hari 
only  once,  and  taking  his  plough  went  out  to  till  the  ground 
all  day  long.     At  night  he  went  to  bed  after  pronouncing 
the  name  of  Hari  once  more.     Ndrada  said  within  himself, 
1  How  can  this  rustic  be  called  a  lover  of  God  ?     I  see  him 
busily  engaged  in  worldly  duties,  and  he  has  no  signs  of 
a  pious  man  in  him.'    Narada  then  went  back  to  the  Lord 
and  said  all  he  thought  of  his  new  acquaintance.     The 
Lord  said,  '  Narada,  take  this  cup  full  of  oil,  go  round  this 
city  and  come  back  with  it,  but  beware  lest  a  drop  of  it  fall 
to  the  ground.'    Narada  did  as  he  was  told,  and  on  his 


THE   SAYINGS.  137 

return  he  was  asked,  'Well,  Narada,  how  often  did  you 
remember  me  in  your  walk  ? '  '  Not  once,  my  Lord,' 
replied  Narada,  'and  how  could  I  when  I  had  to  watch 
this  cup  brimming  over  with  oil?'  The  Lord  then  said, 
'  This  one  cup  of  oil  did  so  divert  your  attention  that  even 
you  did  forget  me  altogether,  but  look  to  that  rustic  who, 
carrying  the  heavy  load  of  a  family,  still  remembers  me 
twice  every  day.' 

168.  There  are  three  kinds  of  love,  selfish,  mutual,  and 
unselfish.     The  selfish  love  is  the  lowest.     It  only  looks 
towards  its  own  happiness,  no  matter  whether  the  beloved 
suffers  weal  or  woe.     In  mutual  love  the  lover  not  only 
wants  the  happiness  of  his  or  her  beloved,  but  has  an  eye 
towards  his  or  her  own  happiness  also.     The  unselfish  love 
is  of  the  highest  kind.     The  lover  only  minds  the  welfare 
of  the  beloved. 

169.  A  true  lover  sees  his  God  as  his  nearest  and  dearest 
relative,  just  as  the  shepherd  women  of  Vr/ndavana  saw  in 
Sri  Krishna,  not  the  Lord  of  the  Universe  (^agannatha), 
but  their  own  beloved  (Gopinatha). 

170.  '  I  must  attain  perfection  in  this  life,  yea,  in  three 
days  I  must  find  God ;  nay,  with  a  single  utterance  of  His 
name  I  will  draw  Him  to  me.'   With  such  a  violent  love  the 
Lord  is  attracted  soon.     The  lukewarm  lovers  take  ages  to 
go  to  Him,  if  at  all. 

171.  A  lover  and  a  knower  of  God  were  once  passing 
through   a    forest.      On    their  way  they  saw  a    tiger  at 
a  distance.     The  Gnanin  or  knower  of  God  said,  'There 


138    THE  LIFE  AND  SAYINGS  OF  RAMAK/Z/SHJVA. 

is  no  reason  why  we  should  flee ;  the  Almighty  God  will 
certainly  protect  us.1  At  this  the  lover  said,  '  No,  brother, 
come  let  us  run  away.  Why  should  we  trouble  the  Lord 
for  what  can  be  accomplished  by  our  own  exertions  ? ' 

172.  The  Knowledge  of  God  may  be  likened  to  a  man, 
while  the  Love  of  God  is  like  a  woman.  Knowledge  has 
entry  only  up  to  the  outer  rooms  of  God,  but  no  one  can 
enter  into  the  inner  mysteries  of  God  save  a  lover,  for 
a  woman  has  access  even  into  the  harem  of  the  Almighty. 

178.  Knowledge  and  love  of  God  are  ultimately  one  and 
the  same.  There  is  no  difference  between  pure  knowledge 
and  pure  love. 

174.  A  group  of  fisherwomen  on  their  way  home  from 
a  distant  market  held  on  an  afternoon,  were  overtaken  by 
a  heavy  hailstorm  at  nightfall  in  the  middle  of  their  way, 
and  so  were  compelled  to  take  shelter  in  a  florist's  house 
near  at  hand.  Through  the  kindness  of  the  florist  they 
were  allowed  to  sleep  that  night  in  one  of  his  rooms,  where 
some  baskets  of  sweet-smelling  flowers  had  been  kept  for 
supplying  his  customers.  The  atmosphere  of  the  room  was 
too  good  for  the  fisherwomen,  and  they  could  not,  owing 
to  it,  get  even  a  wink  of  sleep,  till  one  of  them  suggested 
a  remedy  by  saying,  '  Let  each  of  us  keep  her  empty  basket 
of  fish  close  to  her  nose,  and  thus  prevent  this  troublesome 
smell  of  flowers  from  attacking  our  nostrils  and  killing  our 
sleep.'  Every  one  gladly  agreed  to  the  proposal,  and  did 
accordingly ;  and  soon  all  began  to  snore.  Such,  indeed,  is 


THE    SAYINGS.  139 

the  power  and  influence  of  bad  habits  over  all  those  who 
are  addicted  to  them. 

175.  A  tame  mungoose  had  its  home  high  up  on  the  wall 
of  a  house.     One  end  of  a  rope  was  tied  to  its  neck,  while 
the  other  end  was  fastened  to  a  weight.     The  mungoose 
with  the  appendage  runs  and  plays  in  the  parlour  or  in  the 
yard  of  the  house,  but  no  sooner  does  it  get  frightened  than 
it  at  once  runs  up  and  hides  itself  in  its  home  on  the  wall. 
But  it  cannot  stay  there  long,  as  the  weight  at  the  other  end 
of  the  rope  draws  it  down,  and  it  is  constrained  to  leave  its 
home.     Similarly,  a  man  has  his  home  high  up  at  the  feet 
of  the  Almighty.     Whenever  he  is  frightened  by  adversity 
and  misfortune  he  goes  up  to  his  God,  his  true  home ;  but 
in  a  short  time  he  is  constrained  to  come  down  into  the 
world  by  its  irresistible  attractions. 

176.  As    Heloncha    (Hingcha    repens)    should    not    be 
counted  among  pot-herbs,  or  sugar-candy  among  common 
sweets,  because  even  a  sick  man  can  use  them  without 
injuring  his  health;  or  as  the  pra«ava  (^ff)  is  not  to  be 
counted  as  a  word,  but  as  Divinity  itself;  so  the  desires 
of  holiness,  devotion,  and  love  are  not  to  be  reckoned  as 
desires  at  all. 

177.  When  the  fruit  grows  the  petals  drop  off  of  them- 
selves.     So   when    the    Divinity   in    thee    increases,   the 
weakness  of  humanity  in  thee  will  vanish. 

178.  The  new-born  calf  falls  and  tumbles  down  scores 
of  times  before  it  learns  to  stand  steady.     So  in  the  path 
of  devotion,  the  slips  are  many  before  success  is  achieved. 


I4O   THE  LIFE  AND  SAYINGS  OF  RAMAKtf/SHJVA. 

179.  Some  get  tipsy  with  even  a  small  glass  of  wine. 
Others  require  two  or  three  bottles  to  make  them  intoxi- 
cated.   But  both  get  equal  and  full  pleasure  of  intoxication. 
Similarly,  some  devotees  get  intoxicated  with  celestial  bliss 
by  coming  in  direct  contact  with  the  Lord  of  the  Universe, 
while  others  become  full  of  ecstasy  even  by  a  glimpse  of  the 
Divine  Glory.     But  both  are  equally  fortunate,  since  both 
are  deluged  with  Divine  bliss. 

180.  The  snake  is  very  venomous.    It  bites  when  any  one 
approaches  to  catch  it.     But  the  person  who  has  learnt  the 
snake-charm  can  not  only  catch  a  snake,  but  carries  about 
several  of  them  like  so  many  ornaments.    Similarly,  he  who 
has  acquired  spiritual  knowledge  can  never  be  polluted  by 
lust  and  greed. 

181.  When  a  man  realises  one  of  the  following  states 
he  becomes  perfect: — (i)  All  this  am  I;  (2)  All  this  art 
thou ;  (3)  Thou  the  Master,  and  I  the  servant. 

182.  Thou  shouldst  sacrifice  thy  body,  mind,  and  riches, 
to  find  God. 

183.  Humanity  must  die  before  Divinity  manifests  itself. 
But  this   Divinity  must,  in   turn,  die   before  the   higher 
manifestation   of  the  Blissful  Mother  takes  place.     It  is 
on  the  bosom  of  dead  Divinity  (.Siva)  that  the  Blissful 
Mother  dances  Her  dance  celestial. 

184.  He  finds  God  the  quickest  whose  yearning  and 
concentration  are  the  greatest. 

185.  Samadhi  is  the  state  of  bliss  which  is  experienced 


THE    SAYINGS.  14! 

by  a  live  fish  which,  being  kept  out  of  water  for  some  time, 
is  again  put  into  it. 

186.  There  are  hills  and  mountains,  dales  and  valleys, 
under  the  sea,  but  they  are  not  visible  from  the  surface. 
So  in  the  state  of  Samadhi,  when  one  floats   upon  the 
ocean    of    Sat-^it-ananda,   all    human    consciousness    lies 
latent  in  him. 

187.  If  you  fill  an  earthen  vessel  with  water,  and  set 
it  apart  upon  a  shelf,  the  water  in  it  will  dry  up  in  a  few 
days ;  but  if  you  place  the  same  pot  into  water  it  will  remain 
filled  as  long  as  it  is  kept  there.     Even  such  is  the  case 
with  your  love  to  the  Lord  God.     Fill  and  enrich  your 
bosom  with  the  love  of  God  for  a  time,  and  then  employ 
yourself  in  other  affairs,  forgetting  Him  all  the  while,  and 
then  you  are  sure  to  find  within  a  short  time  that  your 
heart  has  become  poor  and  vacant  and   devoid  of  that 
precious   love.      But  if  you   keep  your  heart  immersed 
always  in  the  depth  of  that  holy  love,  your  heart  is  sure 
to  remain  ever  full  to  overflowing  with  the  Divine  fervour 
of  sacred  love. 

188.  He  who  at  the  time  of  contemplation  is  entirely 
unconscious  of  everything  outside,  has  acquired  the  per- 
fection of  contemplation. 

189.  A  jar  kept  in  water   is  full  of  water  inside  and 
outside.     Similarly  the   soul   immersed   in  God   sees   the 
all-pervading  spirit  within  and  without. 

190.  When  the  grace  of  the  Almighty  descends,  every 


142    THE  LIFE  AND  SAYINGS  OF  RAMAKR7SRYA. 

one  will  understand  his  mistakes  ;  knowing  this  you  should 
not  dispute. 

191.  The  darkness  of  centuries  is  dispersed  at  once  as 
soon  as  a  light  is  brought  into  the  room.    The  accumulated 
ignorances  and  misdoings  of  innumerable   births   vanish 
before  the  single  glance  of  the  Almighty's  gracious  look. 

192.  When  the  Malaya  breeze  blows,  all  trees,  having 
stamina    in    them,   become    converted   into  sandal-trees ; 
but  those  which  have  no  stamina  remain  unchanged  as 
before,  like  bamboo,  plantain,   palm-tree,   &c.    So  when 
Divine  Grace  descends,  men  having  the  germs  of  piety  and 
goodness  in  them  are  changed  at  once  into  holy  beings 
and  are  filled  with  Divinity,  but  worthless  and  worldly  men 
remain  as  before. 

193.  As  the  dawn  heralds  in  the  rising  sun,  so  unselfish- 
ness, purity,  righteousness,  &c.,  precede  the  advent  of  the 
Lord, 

194.  As  a  king,  before  going  to  the  house  of  his  servant, 
sends  from  his  own  stores  the  necessary  seats,  ornaments, 
food,  &c.,  to  his  servant,  so  that  the  latter  may  properly 
receive  him ;  so  before  the  Lord  cometh,  He  sends  love, 
reverence,    faith,    yearning,  &c.,   into    the    heart  of   the 
devotee. 

195.  Shallow  water  in  an  open  field  will  in  time  be  dried 
up  though  no  one  may  lessen  it  by  using  it.     So  a  sinner 
is  sometimes  purified  by  simply  resigning  himself  totally 
and  absolutely  to  the  mercy  and  grace  of  God. 


THE   SAYINGS.  143 

196.  A  policeman  can  see  with  a  dark  lantern  (bull's- 
eye)  every  one  upon  whom  he  throws  the  rays,  but  no  one 
can  see  him  so  long  as  he  does  not  turn  the  light  towards 
himself.     So  does  God  see  every  one,  but  no  one  seeth 
Him   until  the   Lord  revealeth  Himself   to   him   in    His 
mercy. 

197.  There  are   some   fish  which   have   many  sets  of 
bones,  and  others  have  one;   but  as  the  eater  cleans  all 
the  bones   and   eats   the  fish,  so  some  men  have  many- 
sins  and  others  have  few;   but  the  grace  of  God  purifies 
them  all  in  time. 

198.  The  breeze  of  His  grace  is  blowing  night  and  day 
over  thy  head.     Unfurl  the  sails  of  thy  boat  (mind)  if  thou 
wantest  to  make  rapid  progress  through  the  ocean  of  life. 

199.  Fans  should  be  discarded  when  the  wind  blows. 
Prayers  and  penances  should  be  discarded  when  the  grace 
of  God  descends. 

200.  Creeds  and  sects  matter  nothing.     Let  every  one 
perform  with  faith  the  devotions  and  practices  of  his  creed. 
Faith  is  the  only  clue  to  get  to  God. 

201.  He  who  has  faith  has  all,  and  he  who  wants  faith 
wants  all. 

202.  The  faith-healers  of  India  order  their  patients  to 
repeat  with  full   conviction   the  words,   'There  is  no  ill- 
ness in  me,  there  is  no  illness  at  all.'     The  patient  repeats 
it,  and,  thus  mentally  denying,  the  illness  goes  off.     So  if 
you  think  yourself  to  be  morally  weak  and  without  good- 


144   THE  LIFE  AND  SAYINGS  OF  RAMAK/2/SIWA. 

ness,  you  will  really  find  yourself  to  be  so  in  no  time. 
Know  and  believe  that  you  are  of  immense  power,  and  the 
power  will  come  to  you  at  last. 

203.  Bhagavan    Sri    Rama^andra    had    to    bridge    the 
ocean  before  he  could  cross  over  to  Lawka  (Ceylon).     But 
Hanuman,   his    faithful    monkey-servant,  with   one   jump 
crossed  the  ocean  through  the  firmness  of  his  faith  in  Rama. 
Here  the  servant  achieved  more  than  the  master,  simply 
through  faith. 

204.  A  man  wanted  to  cross  the  river.     A  sage  gave 
him  an  amulet  and  said,  '  This  will  carry  thee  across.'    The 
man,  taking  it  in  his  hand,  began  to  walk  over  the  waters. 
When  he  reached  the  middle  of  the  river  curiosity  entered 
into  his  heart,  and  he  opened  the  amulet  to  see  what  was 
in  it.     Therein  he  found,  written  on  a  bit  of  paper,  the 
sacred  name  of  Rama.    The  man  at  this  said  deprecatingly, 
'  Is  this  the  only  secret  ? '     No  sooner  had  he  said  this  than 
he  sank  down.     It  is  faith  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  that 
works  miracles,  for  faith  is  life,  and  doubt  is  death. 

205.  Q.  How  can   I   perform   devotion  when   I   must 
always  think  of  my  daily  bread?    A.  He  for  whom  thou 
workest  will  supply  thy  necessities.     God  hath  made  pro- 
vision for  thy  support  before  he  sent  thee  here. 

206.  Q.  When  shall  I  be  free?    A.  When  thy  I-hood 
(egoism)  will  vanish,  and  thy  self-will  be  merged  in  the 
Divinity. 

207.  Out  of  the  myriads  of  paper  kites  that  are  made  to 


THE    SAYINGS.  145 

fly  in  the  air,  only  one  or  two  rend  the  string  and  get 
free.  So  out  of  hundreds  of  Sadhakas,  only  one  or  two 
get  free  from  worldly  bonds. 

208.  As  a  piece  of  lead,  thrown  into  a  basin  of  mercury, 
is  soon  dissolved  therein,  so  the  human  soul  loses  its  in- 
dividual existence  when  it  falls  into  the  ocean  of  Brahma. 

209.  Q.  What  do  you  say  about  the  method  of  religious 
preaching  employed  now-a-days?   A.  It  is  inviting  hundreds 
of  persons  to  dinner,  when  the  food  supply  is  sufficient  for 
one  only. 

210.  Instead  of  preaching  to  others,  if  one  worships  God 
all  that  time,  that  is  enough  preaching.     He  who  strives  to 
make  himself  free,  is  the  real  preacher.     Hundreds  come 
from    all    sides,  no   one  knows  whence,   to  him  who  is 
free,  and  are  taught.     When  a  flower  opens  the  bees  come 
from  all  sides  uninvited  and  unasked. 

211.  Hast  thou  got,  O  preacher,  the  badge  of  authority  ? 
As  the  humblest  subject  wearing  the  badge  of  the  King 
is  heard  with  respect  and  awe,  and  can  quell  the  riot  by 
showing  his  badge ;  so  must  thou,  O  preacher,  obtain  first 
the  order  and  inspiration  from  God.     So  long  as  thou  hast 
not  this  inspiration,  thou  mayest  preach  all  thy  life,  but  that 
will  be  mere  waste  of  breath. 

212.  He  alone  is  the  true  '  man '  who  is  illumined  with 
the  Spiritual  Light. 

213.  The  soul  enchained  is  'man,'  and  free  from  chain  is 
'.Siva '(God). 

L 


146      THE  LIFE  AND  SAYINGS  OF  RAMAK.K/SHJVA. 

214.  The  heavier  scale  of  a  balance  goes  down  while  the 
lighter  one  rises  up.     Similarly  he  who  is  weighed  down 
with  too  many  cares  and  anxieties  of  the  world,  goes  down 
to  the  world,  while  he  who  has  less  cares  rises  up  towards 
the  Kingdom  of  Heaven. 

215.  God  is  in  all  men,  but  all  men  are  not  in  God : 
that  is  the  reason  why  they  suffer. 

216.  There  are  two  sorts  of  men.    The  Guru  said  to  one 
of  his  disciples,  'What  I  impart   to  thee,   my  dear,  is 
invaluable ;  keep  it  to  thyself,'  and  the  disciple  kept  it  all 
to  himself.     But  when  the  Guru  imparted  that  knowledge 
to  another  of  his  disciples,  the  latter,  knowing  its  inestim- 
able worth,  and  not  liking  to  enjoy  it  all  alone,  stood  upon 
a  high  place  and  began  to  declare  the  good  tidings  to 
all  the  people.     The  Avatiras  are  of  the  latter  class,  while 
the  Siddhas  are  of  the  former. 

217.  No  man  keeps  a  total  fast.   Some  get  food  at  9  a.m., 
others  at  noon,  others  at  2  p.m.,  and  others  in  the  evening. 
Similarly,  at  some  time  or  other,  in  this  life  or  after  many 
lives,  all  will  see  God. 

218.  When  fruit  becomes  ripe  and  falls  of   itself,   it 
tastes  very  sweet;  but  when  unripe  fruit  is  plucked  and 
artificially  ripened  it  does  not  taste  so  sweet  and  becomes 
shrivelled  up.    So  when  one  has  attained  perfection,  the 
observance  of  caste  distinctions  falls  off  of  itself  from  him, 
but  so  long  as  this  exalted  knowledge  is  not  reached, 
one  must  observe  caste  distinctions. 


THE   SAYINGS.  147 

219.  When   a   storm   blows,  it   is  impossible  to  distin- 
guish an  Ajvattha  (pippal)  and  a  Va/a  (banian)  tree.     So 
when  the  storm  of  true  knowledge  (the  knowledge  of  one 
universal  existence)  blows,  there  can  be  no  distinction  of 
caste. 

220.  When  a  wound  is  perfectly  healed,  the  slough  falls 
off  of  itself;  but  if  the  slough  be  taken  off  earlier,  it  bleeds. 
Similarly,  when  the  perfection  of  knowledge  is  reached  by 
a  man,  the  distinctions  of  caste  fall  off  from  him,  but  it  is 
wrong  for  the  ignorant  to  break  such  distinctions. 

221.  Q.  Is  it  proper  to  keep  the  Brahmanical  thread? 
A.  WThen  the  knowledge  of  self  is  obtained,  all  fetters  fall 
off  of  themselves.     Then  there  is  no  distinction  of  a  Brah- 
mana  or  a  «Sudra,  a  high  caste  or  a  low  caste.     In  that  case 
the  sacred  thread-sign  of  caste  falls  away  of  itself.     But  so 
long  as  a  man  has  the  consciousness  of  distinction  and 
difference  he  should  not  forcibly  throw  it  off. 

222.  Q.  Why  do  you  not  lead  a  family  life  with  your 
wife  ?    A.  The  God  Kartikeya,  the  leader  of  the  Heavenly 
army,  once  happened  to  scratch  a  cat  with  his  nail.     On 
going  home  he  saw  there  was  the  mark  of  a  scratch  on  the 
cheek  of  his  Mother.   Seeing  this,  he  asked  of  her, '  Mother, 
dear,  how  have  you  got  that  ugly  scratch  on  your  cheek  ? ' 
The  Goddess  Durga  replied,  '  Child,  this  is  thy  own  handi- 
work,— the  mark  scratched  by  thy  own  nail.'     Kartikeya 
asked  in  wonder,  'Mother,  how  is  it?     I  never  remember 
to  have  scratched  thee ! '     The  Mother  replied,  '  Darling, 
hast  thou  forgotten  having  scratched  a  cat  this  morning  ? ' 

I.  2 


148      THE  LIFE  AND  SAYINGS  OF  RAMAK/2/SHJVA. 

Kartikeya  said,  '  Yes,  I  did  scratch  a  cat ;  but  how  did  your 
cheek  get  marked?'  The  Mother  replied,  'Dear  child, 
nothing  exists  in  this  world  but  myself.  I  am  all  creation. 
Whomsoever  thou  hurtest,  thou  hurtest  me.'  Kartikeya 
was  greatly  surprised  at  this,  and  determined  thenceforward 
never  to  marry ;  for  whom  would  he  marry  ?  Every  woman 
was  mother  to  him.  I  am  like  Kartikeya.  I  consider  every 
woman  as  my  Divine  Mother. 

223.  When  I  look  upon  chaste  women  of  respectable 
families,  I  see  in  them  the  Mother  Divine  arrayed  in  the 
garb  of  a  chaste  lady ;  and  again,  when  I  look  upon  the 
public  women  of  the  city,  sitting  in  their  open  verandas, 
arrayed  in  the  garb  of  immorality  and  shamelessness,  I  see 
in  them  also  the  Mother  Divine,  sporting  in  a  different 
way. 

224.  The  light  of  the  gas  illumines  various  localities  with 
various  intensities.     But  the  life  of  the  light,  namely,  the 
gas,  comes  from  one  common  reservoir.     So  the  religious 
teachers  of  all  climes  and  ages  are  but  as  many  lamp-posts 
through  which  is  emitted  the  light  of  the  spirit  flowing 
constantly  from  one  source,  the  Lord  Almighty. 

225.  As  the  rain-water  from  the  top  of  a  house  may  be 
discharged  through  pipes  having  their  mouth-pieces  shaped 
like  the  head  of  a  tiger,  a  cow  or  a  bull,  &c.,  although  the 
water  does  not  belong  to  these  pipes,  but  comes  from  the 
heaven  above,  so  are  the  holy  Sadhus  (saints)  through  whose 
mouths  eternal  and  heavenly  truths  are  discharged  into  this 
world  by  the  Almighty. 


TPIE   SAYINGS.  149 

226.  The  cries  of  all  jackals  are  alike.     The  teachings  of 
all  the  wise  men  of  the  world  are  essentially  one  and  the 
same. 

227.  Whatever  gives  happiness  in  this  world  contains  a 
bit  of  divine  enjoyment  in  it.     The  difference  between  the 
two  is  as  between  treacle  and  refined  candy. 

228.  He  who  is  absorbed  in  others'  affairs,  forgets  his 
own  outer  and  inner  affairs  (i.e.  does  not  think  about  his 
own  lower  and  higher  self,  but  is  absorbed  in  the  affairs  of 
other  selfs). 

229.  When  the  mind  dwells  in  evil  propensities,  it  is  like 
a  high-caste  Brahma^a  living  in  the  quarters  of  the  out- 
castes,  or  like  a  gentleman  dwelling  in  the  back  slums  of 
the  town. 

230.  If  a  man  sees  a  pleader  he  naturally  thinks  of  cases 
and  causes ;  similarly,  on  seeing  a  pious  devotee,  the  man 
remembers  his  God  and  the  hereafter. 

231.  Q.  What  is  the  reason  that  a  Prophet  is  not  honoured 
by  his  own  kinsmen  ?    A.  The  kinsmen  of  a  juggler  do  not 
crowd  round  him  to  see  his  performances,  while  strangers 
stand  agape  at  his  wonderful  tricks. 

232.  The  seeds  of  Va^ravantula  do  not  fall  to  the  bottom 
of  the  tree.     From  the  shell  they  shoot  far  away  from  the 
tree  and  take  root  there.     So  the  Spirit  of  a  Prophet  mani- 
fests itself  at  a  distance,  and  he  is  appreciated  there. 

233.  There  is  always  a  shade  under  the  lamp  while  its 
light  illumines  the  surrounding  objects.     So  the  man  in  the 


I  50      THE  LIFE  AND  SAYINGS  OF  RAMAICR/SHJVA. 

immediate  proximity  of  a  Prophet  does  not  understand  him. 
Those  who  live  afar  off  are  charmed  by  his  spirit  and  extra- 
ordinary power. 

234.  The  waters  of  a  swiftly-flowing  current  move  round 
and  round  in  eddies  and  whirlpools,  but  quickly  crossing 
these  they  resume  their  former  course.     So  the  hearts  of 
the  pious  fall  sometimes  into  the  whirlpools  of  despondency, 
grief,  and  unbelief,  but  it  is  only  a  momentary  aberration. 
It  does  not  last  long. 

235.  A  tree,  laden  with  fruit,  always  bends  low.     So,  if 
thou  wantest  to  be  great,  be  low  and  meek. 

236.  The  heavier  scale  goes  down  and  the  lighter  one 
rises  up.    So  the  man  of  merit  and  ability  is  always  humble, 
but  the  fool  is  always  puffed  up  with  vanity. 

237.  The  anger  of  the  good  is  like  a  line  drawn  on  the 
surface  of  water,  which  does  not  last  long. 

238.  If  a  white  cloth  is  stained  with  a  small  speck  the 
blackness  appears  very  ugly  indeed  by  the  contrast ;  so  the 
smallest  fault  of  a  holy  man  becomes  painfully  prominent 
by  his  surrounding  purity. 

239.  The  sunlight  is  one  and  the  same  wherever  it  falls ; 
but  bright  surfaces  like  water,  mirror  and  polished  metals, 
&c.,  can  reflect  it  fully.    So  is  the  Light  Divine.     It  falls 
equally  and  impartially  on  all  hearts,  but  the  pure   and 
clean  hearts  of  the  good  and  holy  Sadhus  only  can  fully 
reflect  it. 

240.  As  in  a  pane  of  glass  on  which  quicksilver  has 


THE   SAYINGS.  151 

been  laid,  one  can  see  his  face  reflected,  so  in  the  chaste 
heart  of  a  totally  abstinent  man  is  reflected  the  image  of 
the  Almighty. 

241.  So  long  as  one  does  not  become  simple  like  a  child, 
one  does  not  get  Divine  illumination.    Forget  all  the  worldly 
knowledge  that  thou  hast  acquired,  and  become  as  ignorant 
about  it  as  a  child,  and  then  thou  wilt  get  the  knowledge  of 
the  True. 

242.  The  Hindu  almanacs  contain  predictions  of  the 
annual  rainfall.     But  squeeze  the  book,  and  not  a  drop  of 
water  will  be  got  out  of  it.    So  also  many  good  sayings 
are  to  be  found  in  books,  but  merely  reading  them  will 
not  make  one  religious.    One  has  to  practise  the  virtues 
taught  therein. 

243.  Q.  Why  do  religions  degenerate?    A.   The  rain- 
water is  pure,  but  becomes  soiled  according  to  the  medium 
it  passes  through.     If  the  roof  and  the  pipe  be  dirty,  the 
discharge  is  dirty. 

244.  Money  can  procure  bread  and  butter  only.    Do 
not  consider  it  therefore  as  if  it  were  thy  sole  end  and  aim. 

245.  As  by  rubbing  gold  and  brass  on  a  touch-stone, 
their  real  worth  becomes  known ;  so  a  sincere  Sidhu  and 
a  hypocrite  are  found  out  when  they  are  rubbed  through 
the  touch-stone  of  persecution  and  adversity. 

246.  The  iron  must  be  heated  several  times  and  hammered 
before  it  becomes  good  steel.     Then  only  it  becomes  fit  to 
be  made  into  a  sharp  sword,  and  can  be  bent  any  way  you 


152      THE  LIFE  AND  SAYINGS  OF  RAMAKLR/SHtfA. 

like.  So  a  man  must  be  heated  several  times  in  the  furnace 
of  tribulations,  and  hammered  with  the  persecutions  of  the 
world,  before  he  becomes  pure  and  humble, 

247.  Remain  always  strong  and  steadfast   in   thy  own 
faith,  but  eschew  all  bigotry  and  intolerance. 

248.  Be  not  like  the  frog  in  the  well.     The  frog  in  the 
well  knows  nothing  bigger  and  grander  than  its  well.     So 
are  all  bigots :  they  do  not  see  anything  better  than  their 
own  creeds. 

249.  There  was  a  man  who  worshipped  Siva,  but  hated 
all  other  Deities.     One  day  .Siva  appeared  to  him  and  said, 
'  I  shall  never  be  pleased  with  thee,  so  long  as  thou  hatest 
the  other  gods.'     But  the  man  was  inexorable.     After  a  few 
days  .Siva  again  appeared  to  him.     This  time  he  appeared 
as  Hari-Hara,  that  is,  one  side  of  his  body  was  that  of  .Siva, 
and  the  other  side  that  of  Vishnu.     At  this  the  man  was 
half  pleased  and  half  displeased.     He  laid  his  offerings  on 
the  side  representing  .Siva,  and  did  not  offer  anything  to 
the  side  representing  Vishnu,  and  when  he  offered  the 
burning  incense  to  his  beloved  God  (.Siva)  he  was  careful  as 
well  as  audacious  enough  to  press  the  nostril  of  Vishnu,  the 
other  half  of  Hari-Hara,  lest  the  fragrance  should  be  pleasing 
to  Vishnu.     Seeing  him  altogether  inexorable,  the  God  .Siva 
was  sorely  displeased  with  him,  and  at  once  vanished  from 
his  sight.     But  the  man  was  as  undaunted  as  ever.     How- 
ever, the  children  of  the  village  began  to  tease  him  by  utter- 
ing the  name  of  Vishnu  in  his  hearing.     Displeased  with 
this,  the  man  hung  two  bells  to  his  ears,  which  he  used  to 


THE   SAYINGS.  153 

ring  as  soon  as  the  boys  cried  out  the  names  of  Visrmu,  in 
order  to  prevent  the  sound  entering  his  ears.  And  thus  he 
was  known  by  the  name  of  Bell-eared,  or  Gha«/a-kar?za. 
He  is  still  so  much  hated  for  his  bigotry  that  every  year  at 
a  certain  period  the  boys  of  Bengal  break  down  his  effigy 
with  a  cudgel,  and  this  serves  him  right. 

250.  As  the  young  wife  in  a  family  shows  her  love  and 
respect  to  her  father-in-law,  mother-in-law,  and  every  other 
member  of  the   family,  and  at   the  same  time  loves  her 
husband  more  than  these ;  similarly,  being  firm  in  thy  devo- 
tion to  the  Deity  of  thy  own  choice  (Ish/a-Devata),  do  not 
despise  other  Deities,  but  honour  them  all. 

251.  A  truly  religious  man  should  think  that  other  re- 
ligions also  are  paths  leading  to  the  truth.     We  should 
always    maintain    an    attitude   of   respect    towards    other 
religions. 

252.  The  difference  between  the  modern  Brahmaism  and 
Hinduism  is  like  the  difference  between  the  single  note  of 
music  and  the  whole  music.     The  modern  Brahmas  are 
content  with  the  single  note  of  Brahman,  while  the  Hindu 
religion  is  made  up  of  several  notes  producing  a  sweet  and 
melodious  harmony. 

253.  Some  years  ago,  when  the  Hindus  and  the  Brahmas 
were  preaching  their  respective  religions  with  true  earnest- 
ness and  great  zeal,  some  one  asked  Bhagavan  Sri  Rama- 
kn'shwa  his  opinion  about  both  parties,  on  which  he  replied, 
'  I  see  that  my  Mother  Divine  is  getting  her  work  done 
through  both  parties.' 


I  54      THE  LIFE  AND  SAYINGS  OF  RAMAKR/SRVA. 

254.  Hari  (from  h/7,  to  steal)  means  'He  who  steals  our 
hearts,'  and  Haribala  means  '  Hari  is  our  strength.' 

255.  Sin  like  quicksilver  can  never  be  kept  concealed. 
(When  a  man  takes  calomel,  sooner  or  later  it  is  sure  to 
show  itself  in  the  shape  of  eruptions  on  the  skin.) 

256.  The  tears  of  repentance  and  the  tears  of  happiness 
flow  from  the  two  different  corners  of  the  eye.     The  tears 
of  repentance  flow  from  the  side  near  the  nose,  and  the 
tears  of  happiness  flow  from  the  other  extremity. 

257.  Visit  not  miracle  workers.      They  are  wanderers 
from    the   path   of   truth.      Their   minds    have   become 
entangled  in  the  meshes  of  psychic  powers,  which  lie  in  the 
way  of  the  pilgrim  towards  Brahman,  as  temptations.  Beware 
of  these  powers,  and  desire  them  not. 

258.  A  man  after  fourteen  years  of  hard  asceticism  in 
a  lonely  forest  obtained  at  last  the  power  of  walking  over 
the  waters.     Overjoyed  at  this  acquisition,  he  went  to  his 
Guru,  and  told  him  of  his  grand  feat.     At  this  the  Master 
replied,  '  My  poor  boy,  what  thou  hast  accomplished  after 
fourteen  years'  arduous  labour,  ordinary  men  do  the  same 
by  paying  a  penny  to  the  boatman.' 

259.  A   youthful   disciple   of    Sri   Ramakrrshna   once 
acquired  the  power  of  reading  the  heart  of  another.     When 
he  related  this  experience  to  the  Master,  he  rebuked  him 
and  said,  '  Shame  on  thee,  child,  do  not  waste  thy  energies 
on  these  petty  things.' 

260.  A  washerman  keeps  a  large  store  of  clothes  and  has 


THE   SAYINGS.  155 

a  rich  wardrobe,  but  these  are  not  his.  As  soon  as  the 
clothes  are  washed  his  wardrobe  becomes  empty.  Men 
having  no  original  thoughts  of  their  own  are  like  the 
washerman. 

261.  Greed  brings  woe,  while  contentment  is  all  happi- 
ness. A  barber  was  once  passing  under  a  haunted  tree 
when  he  heard  a  voice  say,  f  Wilt  thou  accept  of  seven  jars 
of  gold  ? '  The  barber  looked  round,  but  could  see  no  one. 
The  mysterious  voice  again  repeated  the  words,  and  the 
cupidity  of  the  barber  being  greatly  roused  by  the  spon- 
taneous offer  of  such  vast  wealth  he  spoke  aloud,  'When 
the  merciful  God  is  so  good  as  to  take  pity  even  on  a  poor 
barber  like  me,  is  there  anything  to  be  said  as  to  my 
accepting  the  kind  offer  so  generously  made?'  At  once 
the  reply  came,  '  Go  home,  I  have  already  carried  the  jars 
thither/  The  barber  ran  in  hot  haste  to  his  house,  and 
was  transported  to  see  the  promised  jars  there.  He  opened 
them  one  after  another  and  saw  them  all  filled,  save  one 
which  was  half  filled.  Now  arose  the  desire  of  filling  this 
last  jar  in  the  heart  of  the  barber.  So  he  sold  all  his  gold 
and  silver  ornaments  and  converted  them  into  coins  and 
threw  them  into  the  jar.  But  the  jar  still  remained  empty. 
He  now  began  to  starve  himself  and  his  family  by  living 
upon  insufficient,  coarse,  and  cheap  food,  throwing  all  his 
savings  into  the  jar,  but  the  jar  remained  as  empty  as  ever. 
The  barber  then  requested  the  King  to  increase  his  pay  as 
it  was  not  sufficient  to  maintain  him  and  his  family.  As  he 
was  a  favourite  of  the  King,  the  latter  granted  his  request. 


I  56      THE  LIFE  AND  SAYINGS  OF  RAMAK/J/SHJVA. 

The  barber  now  began  to  save  all  his  pay  and  emoluments, 
and  throw  them  all  into  the  jar,  but  the  greedy  jar  showed 
no  sign  of  being  filled.  He  now  began  to  live  by  begging, 
and  became  as  wretched  and  miserable  as  ever.  One  day 
the  King  seeing  his  sad  plight,  inquired  of  him  by  saying, 
'  Hallo !  when  thy  pay  was  half  of  what  thou  gettest  now, 
thou  wast  far  happier  and  more  cheerful,  contented,  and 
healthy,  but  with  double  that  pay  I  see  thee  morose,  care- 
worn, and  dejected.  Now  what  is  the  matter  with  thee? 
Hast  thou  accepted  the  seven  jars  of  gold  ? '  The  barber 
was  taken  aback  by  this  home-thrust,  and  with  clasped 
hands  asked  the  King  as  to  who  had  informed  his  majesty 
about  the  matter.  The  King  answered, '  Whosoever  accepts 
the  riches  of  a  Yaksha  is  sure  to  be  reduced  to  such  an 
abject  and  wretched  plight.  I  have  known  thee  through 
this  invariable  sign.  Do  away  with  the  money  at  once. 
Thou  canst  not  spend  a  farthing  of  it.  That  money  is  for 
hoarding  and  not  for  spending.'  The  barber  was  brought 
to  his  senses  by  this  advice  and  went  to  the  haunted  tree 
and  said,  '  O  Yaksha,  take  back  thy  gold,'  and  he  returned 
home  to  find  the  seven  jars  vanished,  taking  with  them  his 
life-long  savings.  Nevertheless  he  began  to  live  happily 
after  it. 

262.  It  is  very  pleasant  to  scratch  a  ringworm,  but  the 
after-sensation  is  very  painful  and  intolerable;  so  the 
pleasures  of  the  world  are  very  pleasant  in  the  beginning, 
but  their  after-consequences  are  very  terrible  to  contem- 
plate. 


THE   SAYINGS.  157 

263.  Q.  What  is  the  world  like?    A.  It  is  like  an  Amla 
fruit,  all  skin  and  stone  with  but  very  little  pulp,  the  eating 
of  which  produces  colic. 

264.  Like  unto  a  miser  that  longeth  after  gold,  let  thy 
heart  pant  after  Him. 

265.  So  long  as  the  heavenly  expanse  of  the  heart  is 
troubled  and  disturbed  by  the  gusts  of  desire,  there  is  little 
chance  of  our  beholding  therein  the  brightness  of  God. 
The  beatific  vision  occurs  only  in  the  heart  which  is  calm 
and  rapt  up  in  divine  communion. 

266.  The  soiled  mirror  never  reflects  the  rays  of  the  sun, 
and  the  impure  and  unclean  in  heart  who  are  subject  to 
Maya  (illusion)  never  perceive  the  glory  of  the  Bhagav&n 
(the  Venerable).     But  the  pure  in  heart  see  the  Lord,  as 
the  clear  mirror  reflects  the  sun.     Be  holy,  then. 

267.  As  on  the  troubled  surface  of  rolling  waters  the 
moon  shines  in  broken  images,  so  on  the  unsettled  mind  of 
a  worldly  man  engrossed  in  Maya,  the  perfect  God  shines 
with  partial  light  only. 

268.  Why  does  a  Bhakta  (one  full  of  the  love  of  God) 
forsake  everything  for  the  sake  of  God?    An  insect  flies 
from  the  darkness  as  soon  as  any  light  meets  its  eyes ;  the 
ant  loses  its  life  in  molasses,  but  never  leaves  them.    So 
the  Bhakta  cleaves  unto  his  God  for  ever,  and  leaves  all 
else. 

269.  As  one  can  ascend  to  the  top  of  a  house  by  means 
of  a  ladder  or  a  bamboo  or  a  staircase  or  a  rope,  so  diverse 


158       THE  LIFE  AND  SAYINGS  OF  RAMAKR/SHtfA. 

also  are  the  ways  and  means  to  approach  God,  and  every 
religion  in  the  world  shows  one  of  these  ways. 

270.  If  God  is  Omnipresent,  why  do  we  not  see  Him  ? 
Standing  by  the  bank  of  a  pool  thickly  overspread  with 
scum  and  weeds,  you  will  say  that  there  is  no  water  in  it. 
If  you  desire  to  see  the  water,  remove  the  scum  from  the 
surface  of  the  pond.     With  eyes  covered  with  the  film  of 
Mayi  you  complain  that  you  cannot  see  God.     If  you 
wish  to  see  Him,  remove  the  film  of  Maya  from  off  your 
eyes. 

271.  Why  cannot  we  see  the  Divine  Mother?    She  is 
like  a  high-born  lady  transacting  all  her  business  from 
behind  the  screen,  seeing  all,  but  seen  by  none.      Her 
devout  sons  only  see  Her,  by  going  near  Her  and  behind 
the  screen  of  May S. 

272.  Dispute  not.     As  you  rest  firmly  on  your  own  faith, 
allow  others  also  the  same  liberty  to  stand  by  their  own 
faiths.     By  mere  disputation  you  shall  never  succeed  in 
convincing  another  of  his  error.     When  the  grace  of  God 
descends  on    him,   every  one   will    understand   his   own 
mistakes. 

273.  A  husbandman  was  watering  a  sugar-cane  field  the 
whole  of  a  day.     After  finishing  his  task  he  saw  that  not 
a  drop  of  water  had  entered  the  field;  all  the  water  had 
gone  underground  through  several  big  rat-holes.     Such  is 
the  state  of  that  devotee  who,  cherishing  secretly  in  his 
heart  worldly  desires  (of  fame,  pleasures,  and  comforts) 
and  ambitions,  worships  God.     Though  daily  praying,  he 


THE   SAYINGS.  159 

makes  no  progress  because  the  entire  devotion  runs  to 
waste  through  the  rat-holes  of  his  desires,  and  at  the  end 
of  his  life-long  devotion  he  is  the  same  man  as  before,  and 
has  not  advanced  one  step. 

274.  Keep  thyself  aloof  at  the  time  of  thy  devotion  from 
those  who  scoff,  and  those  who  ridicule  piety  and  the  pious. 

275.  Is  it  good  to  create  sects?    (Here  is  a  pun  on  the 
word  'Dal,'  which  means  both  a  'sect'  or  'party'  as  well 
as  'the  rank  growth  on  the  surface  of  a  stagnant  pool.') 
The  'Dal'  cannot  grow  in  a  current  of  water:   it  grows 
only  in  the  stagnant  waters  of  petty  pools.    He  whose  heart 
earnestly  longs  after  the  Deity  has  no  time  for  anything 
else.     He  who  looks  for  fame  and  honour,  forms  sects 
(Dal).     (Cf.  105.) 

276.  The  Vedas,  Tantras,  and  the  Pura«as,  and  all 
the  sacred  scriptures  of  the  world,  have  become  as  if  defiled 
(as   food  thrown   out  of  the  mouth  becomes  polluted) : 
because  they  have  been  constantly  repeated  by  and  have 
come  out  of  human  mouths.     But  the  Brahman  or  the 
Absolute  has  never  been  defiled,  for  no  one  as  yet  has 
been  able  to  express  Him  by  human  speech. 

277.  The   parable   of   a    Brahman   and  his  low-caste 
servant : 

As  soon  as  Maya  is  found  out,  she  flies  away.  A  priest 
was  once  going  to  the  village  of  a  disciple.  He  had  no 
servant  with  him.  On  the  way,  seeing  a  cobbler,  he 
addressed  him,  saying,  '  Hallo !  good  man,  wilt  thou 
accompany  me  as  a  servant?  Thou  shall  dine  well  and 


I6O      THE  LIFE  AND  SAYINGS  OF  RAMAK/2/SHJVA. 

wilt  be  cared  for;  come  along.'  The  cobbler  replied 
'  Reverend  Sir,  I  am  of  the  lowest  caste,  how  can  I  repre- 
sent your  servant?'  The  priest  said,  'Never  mind  that. 
Do  not  tell  anybody  what  thou  art,  nor  speak  to  or  make 
acquaintance  with  any  one.'  The  cobbler  agreed.  At 
twilight,  while  the  priest  was  sitting  at  prayers  in  the  house 
of  his  disciple,  another  Brahman  came  and  addressed  the 
priest's  servant,  '  Fellow,  go  and  bring  my  shoes  from 
there.'  The  servant,  true  to  the  words  of  his  master,  made 
no  response.  The  Brahman  repeated  the  order  a  second 
time,  but  the  servant  remained  silent.  The  Brahman 
repeated  it  again  and  again,  but  the  cobbler  moved  not  an 
inch.  At  last,  getting  annoyed,  the  Brahman  angrily  said, 
'  Hallo  Sirrah  !  How  darest  thou  not  obey  a  Brahman's 
command  !  What  is  thy  caste  ?  Art  thou  not  a  cobbler  ? ' 
The  cobbler  hearing  this  began  to  tremble  with  fear,  and 
piteously  looking  at  the  priest  said,  'O  venerable  Sir, 
O  venerable  Sir !  I  am  found  out.  I  cannot  stay  here  any 
longer,  let  me  flee.'  So  saying  he  took  to  his  heels. 

1278.  What  is  the  relation  between  £ivatman  and 
Paramatman,  the  personal  and  the  Highest  Self? 

As  when-  a  plank  of  wood  is  stretched  across  a  current  of 
water,  the  water  seems  to  be  divided  into  two,  so  the 
indivisible  appears  divided  into  two  by  limitations  (Upadhi) 
of  MayiL  In  truth  they  are  one  and  the  same. 

279.  There  is  little  chance  of  a  ship  running  astray,  so 
long  as  its  compass  points  towards  the  true  North.  So  if 
the  mind  of  man — the  compass-needle  of  the  ship  of  life — 


THE    SAYINGS.  l6l 

is  turned  always  towards  the  Parabrahman  without  oscilla- 
tion, it  will  steer  clear  of  every  danger. 

280.  The  Avadhuta   saw  a   bridal   procession   passing 
through  a  meadow,  with  the  beating   of  drums  and  the 
blowing  of  trumpets,  and  with  great  pomp.     Hard  by  the 
road  through  which  the  procession  was   passing   he  saw 
a  hunter  deeply  absorbed  in  aiming  at  a  bird,  and  perfectly 
inattentive  to  the  noise  and  pomp  of  the  procession,  casting 
not  even  a  passing  look  at  it.     The  Avadhfita,  saluting  the 
hunter,  said,  '  Sir,  you  are  my  Guru.     When  I  sit  in  medi- 
tation   let    my   mind   be    concentrated  on   its   object  of 
meditation  as  yours  has  been  on  the  bird.' 

281.  An  angler  was  fishing  in  a  pond.     The  Avadhuta, 
approaching  him,  asked,  '  Brother,  which  way  leads  to  such 
and  such  a  place  ? '     The  float  of  the  rod  at  that  time  was 
indicating  that  the  fish  was  nibbling  the  bait :  so  the  man 
did  not  give  any  reply,  but  was  all  attention  to  his  fishing- 
rod.     When  the  fish  was  caught,  he  turned  round  and  said, 
'  What  is  it  you  have  been  saying,  sir  ? '     The  Avadhuta 
saluted  him  and  said,  lSir,  you  are  my  Guru.     When  I  sit 
in   the  contemplation  of  the  Paramatman,  let  me  follow 
your  example,  and  before  finishing  my  devotions  let  me  not 
attend  to  anything  else.' 

282.  A   heron   was    slowly   walking    to    catch   a   fish. 
Behind,  there  was  a  hunter  aiming  an  arrow  at  it ;  but  the 
bird  was  totally  unmindful  of  this  fact.     The  Avadhuta, 
saluting  the  heron,  said,  '  When  I  sit  in  meditation  let  me 

M 


1 62       THE  LIFE  AND  SAYINGS  OF  RAMAK/Z7SHJVA. 

follow  your  example,  and  never  turn  back  to  see  who  is 
behind  me.' 

283.  A  kite  with  a  fish   in   its   beak  was  followed  by 
a  host  of  crows  and  other  kites,  which  were  screeching  and 
pecking  at  it,  and  were  trying  to  snatch  the  fish  away.     In 
whatever  direction  it  went  the  crowd  of  kites  and  crows 
followed  it,  screeching  and  cawing.     Getting  tired  of  this 
annoyance,  the  kite  let  go  the  fish,  when  it  was  instantly 
caught  by  another  kite,  and  at  once  the  crowd  of  kites  and 
crows  transferred  their  kind  attentions  to  the  new  owner  of 
the  fish.     The  first  kite  was  left  unmolested,  and  sat  calmly 
on  the  branch  of  a  tree.     Seeing  this  quiet  and  tranquil 
state  of  the  bird  the  Avadhuta,  saluting  it,  said,  '  You  are  my 
Guru,  O  Kite ;  for  you  have  taught  me  that  so  long  as  man 
does  not  throw  off  the  burden  of  the  worldly  desires  he 
carries,  he  cannot  be  undisturbed  and  at  peace  with  him- 
self.' 

284.  The  human  Guru  whispers  the  sacred  formula  into 
the   ear;   the   Divine  Guru   breathes   the   spirit   into   the 
soul. 

285.  If  thou  wishest  to  thread  the  needle,  make  the 
thread  pointed,  and  remove  all  extraneous  fibres.   Then  the 
thread  will  easily  enter  into  the  eye  of  the  needle.     So  if 
thou  wishest  to  concentrate  thy  heart  on  God,  be  meek, 
humble,  and  poor  in  spirit,  and  remove  all  filaments  of 
desire. 

286.  A  snake  dwelt  in  a  certain  place.     No  one  dared 
to  pass  by  that  way.     For  whoever  did  so  was  instan- 


THE   SAYINGS.  163 

taneously  bitten  to  death.  Once  a  Mahatman  passed  by 
that  road,  and  the  serpent  ran  after  the  sage  in  order  to 
bite  him.  But  when  the  snake  approached  the  holy  man 
he  lost  all  his  ferocity,  and  was  overpowered  by  the  gentle- 
ness of  the  Yogin.  Seeing  the  snake,  the  sage  said,  '  Well, 
friend,  thinkest  thou  to  bite  me?'  The  snake  was  abashed 
and  made  no  reply.  At  this  the  sage  said,  'Hearken, 
friend,  do  not  injure  anybody  in  future.'  The  snake  bowed 
and  nodded  assent.  The  sage  went  his  own  way  and  the 
snake  entered  his  hole,  and  thenceforward  began  to  live 
a  life  of  innocence  and  purity  without  even  attempting  to 
harm  any  one.  In  a  few  days  all  the  neighbourhood  began 
to  think  that  the  snake  had  lost  all  his  venom,  and  was  no 
more  dangerous,  and  so  every  one  began  to  tease  him. 
Some  pelted  him,  others  dragged  him  mercilessly  by  the 
tail,  and  in  this  way  there  was  no  end  to  his  troubles. 
Fortunately  the  sage  again  passed  by  that  way,  and  seeing 
the  bruised  and  battered  condition  of  the  good  snake,  was 
very  much  moved,  and  inquired  the  cause  of  his  distress. 
At  this  the  snake  replied,  '  Holy  sir,  this  is  because  I  do 
not  injure  any  one,  after  your  advice.  But  alas  !  they  are  so 
merciless ! '  The  sage  smilingly  said,  '  My  dear  friend, 
I  simply  advised  you  not  to  bite  any  one,  but  I  did  not  tell 
you  not  to  frighten  others.  Although  you  should  not  bite 
any  creature,  still  you  should  keep  every  one  at  a  consider- 
able distance  by  hissing  at  him.' 

Similarly,  if  thou  livest  in  the  world,  make  thyself  feared 
and  respected.  Do  not  injure  any  one,  but  be  not,  at  the 
same  time,  injured  by  others. 

M  2 


1 64      THE  LIFE  AND  SAYINGS  OF  RAMAK/2/SH2VA. 

287.  When  the  bird  has  flown  away  from  it,  one  cares  no 
longer  for  the  cage.     So  when  the  bird  of  life  has  flown 
away,  no  one  cares  any  longer  for  the  carcase. 

288.  As  a  lamp  does  not  burn  without  oil,  so  a  man 
cannot  live  without  God. 

289.  290.  A  learned  Brahman  once  went  over  to  a  wise 
king  and  said,  '  Hear,  O  king,  I  am  well  versed  in  the  holy 
scriptures.     I  intend  to  teach  thee  the  holy  book  of  the 
Bhagavata.'     The  king,  who  was  the  wiser  of  the  two,  well 
knew  that  a  man  who  has  read  the  Bhagavata  would  seek 
more  to  know  his  own  Self  than  honour  and  wealth  in 
a  king's  court.     He  replied,  '  I  see,  O  Brahman,  that  you 
yourself  have  not  mastered  that  book  thoroughly.  I  promise 
to  make  you  my  tutor,  but  go  first  and  learn  the  scripture 
well.'    The  Brahman  went  his  way,  thinking  within  himself, 
'  How  foolish  the  king  is  to  say  I  have  not  mastered  the 
Bhagavata  well,  when  I  have  been  reading  the  book  over 
and  over  again  for  all  these  years.'     However,  he  went  over 
the  book  carefully  once  more  and  appeared  before  the  king. 
The  king  told  him  the  same  thing  again  and  sent  him 
away.     The  Brahman  was  sore  vexed,  but  thought  there 
must  be  some  meaning  for  this  behaviour  of  the  king.     He 
went  home,  shut  himself  up  in  his  closet,  and  applied  him- 
self more  than  ever  to  the  study  of  the  book.     By  and  by  the 
hidden  meanings  began  to  flash  before  his  intellect;  the 
vanity  of  running  after  the  bubbles,  riches  and  honour, 
kings  and  courts,  wealth  and   fame,  all  vanished  before 
his  unclouded  vision.     From   that  day  forward  he  gave 


THE   SAYINGS.  165 

himself  up  entirely  to  attain  perfection  by  the  worship  of 
God,  and  never  returned  to  the  king.  A  few  years  after 
the  king  thought  of  the  Brahman,  and  went  to  his  house  to 
see  what  he  was  about.  Seeing  the  Brahman,  all  radiant 
with  the  divine  light  and  love,  he  fell  upon  his  knees  and 
said,  '  I  see  you  have  now  arrived  at  the  true  meaning  of 
the  scriptures ;  I  am  ready  to  be  your  disciple,  if  you  will 
duly  condescend  to  make  me  one.' 

291.  As  long  as  there  is  no  breeze  blowing,  we  fan  our- 
selves to  alleviate  heat,  but  when  the  breeze  blows  both  for 
rich  and  poor,  we  give  up  fanning.     We  should  persevere 
ourselves  to  reach  our  final  goal  as  long  as  there  is  no  help 
from  above ;  but  when  that  help  comes  to  any,  let  him 
then  stop  labouring  and  persevering;  otherwise  not. 

292.  Q.  Where  is  God?     How  can  we  get  to  Him? 
A.  There  are  pearls  in  the  sea,  you  must  dive  deep  again 
and  again  until  you  get  the  pearls.     So  there  is  God  in  the 
world,  but  you  should  persevere  to  see  Him. 

293.  How  does  the  soul  stay  in  the  body?    As  the 
piston  stays  in  a  syringe. 

294.  As   in   mid-ocean   a  bird,  which  found  its  perch 
upon  the  topmast  of  a  ship,  getting  tired  of  its  position, 
flies  away  to  discover  a  new  place  of  rest  for  itself,  and 
alas  !  without  finding  any,  returns  at  last  to  its  old  roost 
upon  the  masthead,  weary  and  exhausted;   so  when   an 
ordinary  aspirant,  being  disgusted  with  the  monotony  of 
the  task  and   the  discipline   imposed    upon   him   by   his 
well-wishing  and  thoroughly  experienced  preceptor  (Guru), 


1 66      THE  LIFE  AND  SAYINGS  OF  RAMAK/t/SHA'A. 

loses  all  hope,  and,  having  no  confidence  in  him,  launches 
forth  into  the  broad  world  ever  in  search  of  a  new  adviser, 
he  is  sure  at  last  to  return  to  his  original  master  after 
a  fruitless  search,  which  has,  however,  increased  the 
reverence  of  the  repentant  aspirant  for  the  master. 

295.  In  the  month  of  June  a  young  goat  was  playing 
near  his  mother,  when,  with  a  merry  frisk,  he  told  her  that 
he  meant  to  make  a  feast  of  Ras-flowers,  a  species  of 
flowers  budding  abundantly  during  the  time  of  the  Raslila 
festival.     '  Well,  my  darling,'  replied  the  dam,  '  it  is  not 
such  ah  easy  thing  as  you  seem  to  think.    You  will  have  to 
pass  through  many  crises  before  you  can  hope  to  feast  on 
Ras-flowers.     The  interval  between  the  coming  September 
and  October  is  not  very  auspicious  to  you ;  for  some  one 
may  take  you  for  a  sacrifice  to  the  Goddess  Durga ;  then, 
again,  you  will  have  to  get  through  the  time  of  Kali-pu^a, 
and  if  you  are  fortunate  enough  to  escape  through  that 
period,  there  comes  the  &agaddhat/7-pu£a,  when  almost  all 
the  surviving  male  members  of  our  tribe  are  destroyed.     If 
your  good  luck  leads  you  safe  and  sound  through  all  these 
crises,  then  you  can  hope  to  make  a  feast  of  Ras-flowers  in 
the  beginning  of  November.'    Like  the  dam  in  the  fable, 
we  should  not  hastily  approve  of  all  the  aspirations  which 
our  youthful  hopes  may  entertain,  remembering  the  mani- 
fold crises  which  one  will  have  to  pass  through  in  the 
course  of  one's  life. 

296.  As  the  fly  sits,  now  on  the  unclean  sore  of  the 
human  body,  and  now  on  the  offerings  dedicated  to  the 


THE   SAYINGS.  1 67 

gods,  so  the  mind  of  the  worldly  man  is  at  one  time  deeply 
engaged  in  religious  topics  and  at  the  next  moment  loses 
itself  in  the  pleasures  of  wealth  and  lust. 

297.  As  the  rain-water  falling  upon  the  roof  of  a  house 
flows   down   to  the   ground    through    spouts    grotesquely 
shaped  like  the  tiger's  head,  thus  seeming  to  come  out  of 
tigers'  mouths,  while  in  reality  it  descends  from  the  sky ; 
even  so  are  the  holy  instructions  that  come  out  of  the 
mouths  of  godly  men,  which  seem  to  be  uttered  by  those 
men  themselves,  while   in   reality  they  proceed  from  the 
throne  of  God.     (See  225.) 

298.  As  it  is  very  difficult  to  gather  together  the  mustard- 
seeds  that  escape  out  of  a  torn  package,  and  are  scattered 
in  all  directions ;  so,  when  the  human  mind  runs  in  diverse 
directions  and  is  occupied  with  many  things  in  the  world,  it 
is  not  a  very  easy  affair  to  collect  and  concentrate  it. 

299.  As  thieves  cannot  enter  the  house  the  inmates  of 
which  are  wide  awake,  so,  if  you  are  always  on  your  guard, 
no  evil  spirits  will  be  able  to  enter  your  heart  to  rob  it  of 
its  goodness. 

300.  The  new-born  calf  looks  very  lively,  blithe,  and 
merry.     It  jumps  and  runs  all  day  long,  and  only  stops  to 
suck  the  sweet  milk  from  its  dam.     But  no  sooner  is  the 
rope  placed  round  its  neck  than  it  begins  to  pine  away 
gradually,  and,  far  from  being  merry,  wears  a  dejected  and 
sorry  appearance,  and  gets  almost  reduced  to  a  skeleton. 
So  long  as  a  boy  has  no  concern  with  the  affairs  of  the 
world  he  is  as  merry  as  the  day  is  long.     But  when  he  once 


1 68      THE  LIFE  AND  SAYINGS  OF  RAMAKR/SHA-A. 

feels  the  weight  of  the  responsibilities  of  a  man  of  family, 
by  binding  himself  in  time  to  the  world  by  the  indissoluble 
tie  of  wedlock,  then  he  no  longer  appears  jolly,  but  wears 
the  look  of  dejection,  care,  and  anxiety,  and  is  seen  to  lose 
the  glow  of  health  from  his  cheeks,  while  wrinkles  gradually 
make  their  appearance  over  the  forehead.  Blessed  is  he 
that  remains  a  boy  throughout  his  life,  free  as  the  morning 
air,  fresh  as  a  newly-blown  flower,  and  pure  as  a  dewdrop. 

SOL  A  boat  may  stay  in  the  water,  but  water  should  not 
stay  in  the  boat.  An  aspirant  may  live  in  the  world,  but 
the  world  should  not  live  in  him. 

302.  He  who  thinks  his  spiritual  guide  a  mere  man,  can- 
not derive  any  benefit  from  him. 

303.  What  you  think  you  should  say.     Let  there  be  a 
harmony  between  your  thoughts  and  your  words ;  otherwise, 
if  you  merely  tell  that  God  is  your  all  in  all,  while  your 
mind  has  made  the  world  its  all  in  all,  you  cannot  derive 
any  benefit  thereby. 

304.  A  young  plant  should  be  always  protected  by  a 
fence  from  the  mischief  of  goats  and  cows  and  little  urchins. 
But  when  once  it  becomes  a  big  tree,  a  flock  of  goats  or 
a  herd  of  cows  may  find  shelter  under  its  spreading  boughs, 
and  fill  their  stomachs  with  its  leaves.  So  when  you  have  but 
little  faith  within  you,  you  should  protect  it  from  the  evil 
influences  of  bad  company  and  worldliness.    But  when  once 
you  grow  strong  in  faith,  no  worldliness  or  evil  inclination 
will  dare  approach  your  holy  presence ;  and  many  who  are 
wicked  will  become  godly  through  your  holy  contact. 


THE   SAYINGS.  169 

305.  If  you  wash  the  body  of  an  elephant  and  set  him  at 
large,  he  is  sure  to  get  himself  dirtied  in  no  time,  but  if 
after  washing  him  you  tie  him  down  to  his  own  room  he 
will  remain  clean.      So  if  by  the  good  influences  of  holy 
men  you  once  become  pure  in  spirit,  and  then  allow  yourself 
the  liberty  to  mix  freely  with  worldly  men,  you  are  sure  to 
lose  that  purity  soon ;  but  if  you  keep  your  mind  fixed  on 
your  God,  you  will  never  more  get  soiled  in  spirit. 

306.  Where  does  the  strength  of  an  aspirant  lie  ?    It  is 
in  his  tears.     As  a  mother  gives  her  consent  to  fulfil  the 
desire  of  her  importunately  weeping  child,  so  God  vouch- 
safes to  His  weeping  son  whatever  he  is  crying  for. 

307.  Meditate  on  God  either  in  an  unknown  corner,  or 
in  the  solitude  of  forests,  or  within  your  own  mind. 

308.  Chant  forth  the  sweet  name  of  Hari  (God),  keeping 
time  all  the  while  by  clapping  your  hands,  then  you  will 
acquire  mental   concentration.     If  you  clap  your  hands, 
sitting  under  a  tree,  the  birds  on  the  boughs  thereof  will  fly 
away  in  all  directions,  and  when  you  chant  forth  the  name 
of  Hari  and  clap  your  hands,  all  evil  thoughts  will  fly  away 
from  your  mind. 

309.  310.  As  the  same  fish  is  dressed  into  soup,  curry,  or 
cutlet,  and  each  has  his  own  choice  dish  of  it,  so  the  Lord 
of  the  Universe,  though  one,  manifests  Himself  differently 
according  to  the  different  likings  of  His  worshippers,  and 
each  of  these  has  his  own  taste  of  God,  which  he  values  the 
most.    To  some  He  is  a  kind  master  or  a  loving  father, 


I  70      THE  LIFE  AND  SAYINGS  OF  RAMAKR/SH-tfA. 

a  sweet  smiling  mother  or  a  devout  friend,  and  to  others 
a  faithful  husband  or  a  dutiful  and  obliging  son. 

311.  Bow  down  and  adore  where  others  kneel,  for  where 
so  many  hearts  have  been  paying  the  tribute  of  adoration, 
the  kind  Lord  will  manifest  Himself,  for  He  is  all  mercy. 

312.  There  are  men,  who,  although  they  have  nothing 
to  attract  them  in  this  world,  create  some  attachments  for 
themselves,  and  so  try  to  bind  themselves  to  this  earth. 
They  do  not  want  and  do  not  like  to  be  free.     A  man 
who  has  no  family  to  care  for,  no  relatives  to  look  after, 
generally  takes  a  cat,  or  a  monkey,  or  a  dog,  or  a  bird  for 
a  pet  object  and  companion  ;  and  thus  slakes  his  thirst  for 
milk  by  drinking  mere  whey.     Such  is  the  power  of  Maya 
or  Nescience  over  humanity. 

313.  314.  A  patient,  in  high  fever  and  excess  of  thirst, 
imagines  that  he  can  drink  away  quite  a  sea  of  water ;  but 
when   that  fit  of  fever  goes  and  he  regains   his   normal 
temperature,  he  can  barely  quaff  off  a  single  cupful  of 
water,  and  his  thirst  is  at  once  appeased  with  even  a  very 
small  quantity  of  it.     So  a  man,  being  under  the  feverish 
excitement  of  Maya,  and  forgetful  of  his  own  littleness, 
imagines  that  he  can  embrace  the  whole  of  Divinity  within 
his  own  bosom,  but  when  the  illusion  passes  away  a  single 
ray  of  Divine  Light  is  seen  to  be  sufficient  to  flood  him 
with  eternal  divine  bliss. 

315.  A  man,  under  the  influence   of  very   high   fever 
and  in  excessive  thirst,  is  placed  between  a  row  of  pitchers 


THE    SAYINGS.  I  71 

filled  with  cold  water  and  a  set  of  open-mouthed  bottles 
filled  with  flavoury  sauces.  Is  it  possible  for  the  thirsty 
and  restless  patient  in  such  a  case  to  refrain  from  either 
drinking  the  water  or  from  tasting  the  sauces  placed  so 
near  him,  although  thereby  his  case  may  become  worse? 
Even  such  is  the  case  with  the  man  who  is  under  the 
maddening  influence  of  his  ever-active  and  misleading 
senses  when  he  is  placed  between  the  attractions  of  woman's 
charm  on  the  one  side  and  those  of  wealth  on  the  other. 
It  is  then  difficult  for  him  to  behave  properly,  and  he  is 
liable  to  deviate  often  from  the  true  path  and  thus  make 
his  case  worse. 

316.  None  ventures  to  keep  milk  in  a  vessel  in  which 
curd  had  formerly  formed,  lest  the  milk  itself  should  get 
curdled.      Nor  can  the  vessel  be   safely   used  for  other 
working  purposes  lest  it  should  crack  upon  the  fire.     It  is 
therefore  almost  useless.     A  good  and  experienced  pre- 
ceptor does  not  entrust  to  a  worldly  man  valuable  and 
exalting  precepts,  for  he  is  sure  to  misinterpret  and  misuse 
them  to  suit  his  own  mean  designs.     Nor  will  he  ask  him 
to  do  any  useful  work  that  may  cost  a  little  labour,  lest  he 
should  think  that  the  preceptor  was  taking  undue  advantage 
of  him. 

317.  When  a  certain  quantity  of  pure  milk  is  mixed  with 
double  the  quantity  of  water,  it  takes  a  long  time  and  much 
labour  to  thicken  it  to  the  consistency  of  Kshira  (condensed 
milk).     The  mind  of  a  worldly  man  is  largely  diluted  with 
the  filthy  water  of  evil  and  impure  thoughts,  and  it  requires 


172       THE  LIFE  AND  SAYINGS  OF  RAMAKWSHJVA. 

much  .time  and  labour  before  anything  can  be  done  to 
purify  and  give  the  proper  consistency  to  it. 

318.  The  vanities  of  all  others  may  gradually  die  out, 
but  the  vanity  of  a  saint  as  regards  his  sainthood  is  hard 
indeed  to  wear  away. 

319.  Of  the  grains  of  paddy  which  are  fried  in  a  frying- 
pan,  the  few  which  leap  out  of  the  pan  and  burst  outside 
are  the  best  fried,  being  without  the  slightest  mark  of  any 
tinge ;  while  every  one  of  the  properly-fried  grains  in  the 
pan  itself  is  sure  to  have  at  least  a  very  small  charred  mark 
of  a  burn.     So  of  all  good  devotees,  the  few  who  altogether 
give  up  the  world  and  go  out  of  it  are  perfect  without  any 
spot,  while  even  the  best  of  those  devotees  who  are  in  the 
world  must  have  at  least  some  small  spot  of  imperfection 
in  their  character. 

320.  We  cannot  say  that  God  is  gracious  because  He 
feeds  us,  for  every  father  is  bound  to  supply  his  children 
with  food  ;  but  when  He  keeps  us  from  going  astray,  and 
holds  us  back  from  temptations,  then  He  is  truly  gracious. 

32L  If  you  can  detect  and  find  out  the  universal  illusion 
or  Maya,  it  will  fly  away  from  you,  just  as  a  thief  runs  away 
when  found  out 

322.  Fire  itself  has  no  definite  shape,  but  in  glowing 
embers  it  assumes  certain  forms,  and  the  formless  fire  is 
then  endowed  with   forms.     Similarly,  the   formless   God 
sometimes  invests  Himself  with  definite  forms. 

323.  Should  we  pray  aloud  unto  God  ?    Pray  unto  Him 


THE   SAYINGS.  173 

in  any  way  you  like.     He  is  sure  to  hear  you,  for  He  can 
hear  even  the  footfall  of  an  ant. 

324.  He  who  tries  to  give  one  an  idea  of  God  by  mere 

book-learning  is  like  the  man  who  tries  to  give  one  an  idea 
of  Kasi  (Benares)  by  means  of  a  map  or  a  picture. 

325.  A  man  began  to  sink  a  well,  but  having  dug  down 
to  the  depth  of  twenty  cubits  he  could  not  find  the  least 
trace  of  the  water-spring  which  was  to  feed  his  well.     So  he 
desisted  from  the  work  and  selected  another  place  for  the 
purpose.     There  he  dug  deeper  than  before,  but  even  then 
he  could  not  find  any  water.     So  again  he  selected  another 
spot  and  dug  still  deeper  than  before,  but  it  was  also  of  no 
avail.     At  last  in  utter  disgust  he  gave  up  the  task  alto- 
gether.    The  sum  total  of  the  depths  of  these  three  wells 
was  little  short  of  a   hundred  cubits.     Had  he  had  the 
patience  to  devote  even  a  half  of  the  whole  of  this  labour 
to  his  first  well,  without  shifting  the  site  of  the  well  from 
place  to  place,  he  would  surely  have  been  successful  in 
getting  water.     Such  is  the  case  with  men  who  continually 
shift  their  positions  in  regard  to  faith.     In  order  to  meet 
with  success  we  should  devote  ourselves  entirely  to  a  single 
object  of  faith,  without  being  doubtful  as  to  its  efficacy. 

326.  Although  in  a  grain  of  paddy  the  germ  is  considered 
the  only  necessary  thing  (for  germination  and  growth),  while 
the  husk  or  chaff  is  considered  to  be  of  no  importance,  still 
if  the  unhusked  grain  be  put  into  the  ground  it  will  not 
sprout  up  and  grow  into  a  plant  and  produce  rice.     To  get 
a  crop  one  must  needs  sow  the  grain  with  the  husk  on ;  but 


I  74      THE  LIFE  AND  SAYINGS  OF  RAMAKK/SRVA. 

if  one  wants  to  get  at  the  germinating  matter  itself  he  must 
first  perform  the  operation  of  removing  the  husk  from  the 
seed.  So  rites  and  ceremonies  are  necessary  for  the  growth 
and  perpetuation  of  a  religion.  They  are  the  receptacles 
that  contain  the  seeds  of  truth,  and  consequently  every  man 
must  perform  them  before  he  reaches  the  central  truth. 

327.  The  pearl-oyster  that  contains  the  precious  pearl 
is  in  itself  of  very  little  value,  but  it  is  essential  for  the 
growth  of  the  pearl     The  shell  itself  is  of  no  use  to  the 
man  who  has  got  the  pearl,  neither  are  ceremonies  and 
rites  necessary  for  him  who  has  attained  the  Highest  Truth 
—God. 

328.  A  woodcutter  led  a  very  miserable  life  with  the 
small  means  he  could  procure  by  daily  selling  the  load 
of  wood   brought   from   a   neighbouring   forest.     Once  a 
Sawnyasin,  who  was  wending  his  way  through  the  forest, 
saw  him  at  work,  and  advised  him   to   proceed   onward 
into  the  interior  recesses  of  the  forest,  intimating  to  him 
that    he   would    be  a  gainer   thereby.      The  woodcutter 
obeyed  the  injunction  and  proceeded  onward  till  he  came 
to  a  sandal-wood  tree,  and  being  much  pleased  he  took 
away  with  him   as   many  sandal-logs   as  he  could  carry, 
and  sold  them  in  the  market  and  derived  much  profit 
Then   he   began   to  think  within   himself  why  the  good 
Sa»myasin  did  not  tell  him  anything  about  the  wood  of 
the  sandal-trees,  but  simply  advised  him  to  proceed  onward 
into  the  interior  of  the  forest.    So  the  next  day  he  went 
on  even  beyond  the  place  of  the  sandal  wood,  and  at  last 


THE    SAYINGS.  175 

came  upon  a  copper-mine,  and  he  took  with  him  as  much 
copper  as  he  could  carry,  and  selling  it  in  the  market  got 
much  money  by  it.  Next  day,  without  stopping  at  the 
copper-mine,  he  proceeded  further  still,  as  the  Sadhu  had 
advised  him  to  do,  and  came  upon  a  silver-mine,  and  took 
with  him  as  much  of  it  as  he  could  carry,  and  sold  it  all  and 
got  even  more  money;  and  so  daily  proceeding  further 
and  further  he  got  at  gold-mines  and  diamond-mines,  and 
at  last  became  exceedingly  rich.  Such  is  also  the  case  with 
the  man  who  aspires  after  true  knowledge.  If  he  does  not 
stop  in  his  progress  after  attaining  a  few  extraordinary  and 
supernatural  powers,  he  at  last  becomes  really  rich  in  the 
eternal  knowledge  of  truth. 

329.  If  you  first  smear  the  palms  of  your  hands  with 
oil  and  then  break  open  the  jack-fruit,  the  sticky  milky 
exudation  of  the  fruit  will  not  stick  to  your  hands  and 
trouble  you.     So  if  you  first  fortify  yourself  with  the  true 
knowledge  of  the  Universal  Self,  and  then  live  in  the  midst 
of  wealth  and  women,  they  will  affect  you  in  no  way. 

330.  He  who  would  learn  to  swim  must  attempt  swimming 
for  some  days.     No  one  can  venture  to  swim  in  the  sea  after 
a  single  day's  practice.     So  if  you  want  to  swim  in  the  sea 
of  Brahman,  you  must  make  many  ineffectual  attempts  at 
first,  before  you  can  successfully  swim  therein. 

331.  When  does  a  man  get  his  salvation  ?    When  his 
egoism  dies. 

332.  When  a  sharp  thorn  finds  its  way  into  the  sole  of 
one's  foot,  one  takes  another  thorn  to  get  the  former  out, 


176      THE  LIFE  AND  SAYINGS  OF  RAMAK/27SHJVA. 

and  then  casts  both  of  them  away.  So  relative  knowledge 
alone  can  remove  the  relative  ignorance  which  blinds  the 
eye  of  the  Self.  As  both  such  knowledge  and  ignorance  are 
comprised  truly  under  Nescience,  the  man  who  attains  the 
highest  Gn&na.,  or  knowledge  of  the  Absolute,  does  away 
with  both  knowledge  and  ignorance  in  the  end,  being  him- 
self free  from  all  duality. 

333.  To  drink   pure   water   from  a  shallow  pond,    one 
should  gently  take  the  water  from  the  surface,  and  not  dis- 
turb it.     If  it  is  disturbed  the  sediments  will  rise  up  from 
the  bottom   and  make  the  whole  water  muddy.     If  you 
desire  to  be  pure,  have  firm  faith  and  slowly  go  on  with 
your  devotional   practices,   and   waste    not   your   energies 
in  useless  scriptural  discussions  and  arguments.     The  little 
brain  will  otherwise  be  muddled. 

334.  If  this  body  is  worthless  and   transitory,  why  do 
pious  and  devout  men  take  care  of  it  ?     No  one  takes  care 
of  an  empty  box.     All  protect  with  care  a  chest  full  of 
precious  jewels,  gold,  and  costly  articles.     The  pious  soul 
cannot  help  taking  care  of  the  body  in  which  the  Divine 
one  dwells,  for  all  our  bodies  form  the  playground  of  the 
Deity. 

335.  The  tender  bamboo  can  be  easily  bent,  but  the  full- 
grown  bamboo  breaks  when  an  attempt  is  made  to  bend  it. 
It  is  easy  to  bend  young  hearts  towards  good,  but  the  heart 
of  the  old  escapes  the  hold  when  so  drawn. 

336.  The  locomotive  engine  easily  drags  along  a  train  of 


THE    SAYINGS.  177 

heavily-laden  carriages.  So  the  loving  children  of  God, 
firm  in  their  faith  and  devotion  to  Him,  feel  no  trouble  in 
passing  through  all  the  worries  and  anxieties  of  life,  and 
leading  many  men  along  with  them  to  God. 

337.  Every  man   should  follow  his   own  religion.      A 
Christian  should  follow  Christianity,  a  Mohammedan  should 
follow  Mohammedanism,  and  so  on.     For  the  Hindus  the 
ancient  path,  the  path  of  the  Aryan  Rishis,  is  the  best. 

338,  339.  He  alone  is  the  true  man  who  is  illumined  with 
the  light  of  true  knowledge.     Others  are  men  in  name  only. 

340.  The   magnetic   needle  always  points   towards  the 
North,  and  hence  it  is  that  the  sailing-vessel  does  not  lore 
her  course.    So  long  as  the  heart  of  man  is  directed  towards 
God  he  cannot  be  lost  in  the  ocean  of  worldliness. 

341.  As  the  village  maidens  in  India  carry  four  or  five 
pots  of  water  placed  one  over  the  other  upon  their  heads, 
talking  all  the  way  with  one  another  about  their  own  joys 
and  sorrows,  and  yet  do  not  allow  one  drop  of  water  to  be 
spilt,  so  must  the  traveller  in  the  path  of  virtue  walk  along. 
In  whatever  circumstances  he  may  be  placed,  let  him  always 
take  heed  that  his  heart  does  not  swerve  from  the  true  path. 

342.  In  our  theatrical  exhibitions  wherein  the  life  and 
exploits  of  Krishna,  are  exhibited,  the  performance  com- 
mences with  the  beating  of  drums  and  the  singing  aloud  of 
'O  Krishna,  come;  come,  O  dear  one.'    But  the  person 
who  plays  the  part  of  Krishna  pays  no  heed  to  this  noise 
and  turmoil,  and  goes  on  complacently  chatting  and  smoking 

N 


1  78      THE  LIFE  AND  SAYINGS  OF  RAMAKR/SHATA. 

in  the  green-room  behind  the  stage.  But  as  soon  as  the 
noise  ceases,  and  the  pious  sage  Narada  enters  on  the  stage 
with  sweet  and  soft  music  and  calls  upon  Knshwa  to  come 
out  with  a  heart  overflowing  with  love,  Kn'shrca  finds  that 
he  can  no  longer  remain  indifferent,  and  hurriedly  comes  on 
to  the  stage.  So  long  as  the  religious  devotee  cries,  '  Come, 
O  Lord ;  come,  O  Lord,'  with  lip-prayers  only,  verily  the 
Lord  will  never  come  ;  when  the  Lord  does  come,  the  heart 
of  the  devotee  will  melt  in  divine  emotion,  and  his  loud 
utterances  will  all  cease  for  ever.  The  Lord  cannot  delay 
in  coming  when  man  calls  upon  Him  from  the  depths  of 
his  heart  overflowing  with  deep  love  and  devotion. 

343.  There  is  no  Path  safer  and  smoother  than  that  of 
ba-kalami  (sic).     Ba-kalama  means  resigning  the  self  to  the 
will  of  the  Almighty,  to  have  no  consciousness  that  anything 
is  '  mine.' 

344.  What  is  the  nature  of  absolute  reliance  ?    It  is  that 
happy  state  of  comfort  felt  by  a  fatigued  worker,  when  re- 
clining on  a  pillow  he  smokes  at  leisure  after  a  hard  day's 
toil :  it  is  a  cessation  of  all  anxieties  and  worries. 

345.  As  dry  leaves  are  blown  about  here  and  there  by 
the  wind,  and  have  no  choice  of  their  own,  and  make  no 
exertion  :  so  those  who  depend  upon  God  move  in  harmony 
with  His  will,  and  can  have  no  will,  and  put  forth  no  effort, 
of  their  own. 

346.  347.  What  do  you  think  of  the  man  who  is  a  good 
orator  and  preacher,  but  whose  spirituality  is  undeveloped  ? 
He  is  like  a  person  who  squanders  another's  property  left  in 


THE   SAYINGS.  179 

trust  with  him.  He  can  easily  advise  others,  for  it  costs 
him  nothing,  as  the  ideas  he  expresses  are  not  his  own,  but 
borrowed. 

348.  A  worldly  man  is  best  known  by  his  antipathy  to 
whatever  savours  of  religion.     He  does  not  like  to  hear  any 
sacred  music  or  psalm,  or  to  utter  the  holy  name  of  God, 
and  even  dissuades  others  from  doing  the  same.     He  scoffs 
at  prayers,  and  pours  down  a  volley  of  abuse  upon  all  religious 
societies  and  men. 

349.  As  a  boy  holding  on  to  a  post  or  a  pillar  gyrates 
round  it  with  headlong  speed  without  fear  of  a  fall,  so,  fixing 
thy  hold  firmly  on  God,  perform  thy  worldly  duties,  and 
thou  shall  be  free  from  all  dangers. 

350.  As  an  unchaste  woman,  busily  engaged  in  household 
affairs,  is  all  the  while  thinking  of  her  secret  lover,  even  so, 
O  thou  man  of  the  world,  do  thy  round  of  worldly  duties, 
but  fix  thy  heart  always  on  the  Lord. 

351.  As  a  wet-nurse  in  a  rich  family  brings  up  the  child 
of  her  master,  loving  the  baby  as  if  it  were  her  own,  but 
knows  well  that  she  has  no  claim  upon  it ;  so  think  ye  also 
that  you  are  but  trustees  and  guardians  of  your  children 
whose  real  father  is  the  Lord  God  in  Heaven. 

352.  It  is  useless  to  pore  over  holy  scriptures  and  sacred 
Shastras  without  a  discriminating  and  dispassionate  mind. 
No  spiritual  progress  can  be  made  without  discrimination 
(Viveka)  and  dispassion  (Vairagya). 

353.  Know  thyself,  and  thou  shall  then  know  the  non- 

N  2 


l8o      THE  LIFE  AND  SAYINGS  OF 

self  and  the  Lord  of  all.  What  is  my  ego  ?  Is  it  my  hand, 
or  foot,  or  flesh,  or  blood,  or  muscle,  or  tendon  ?  Ponder 
deep,  and  thou  shall  know  that  there  is  no  such  thing  as  I. 
As  by  continually  peeling  off  the  skin  of  the  onion,  so  by 
analysing  the  ego  it  will  be  found  that  there  is  not  any  real 
entity  corresponding  to  the  ego.  The  ultimate  result  of  all 
such  analysis  is  God.  When  egoism  drops  away,  Divinity 
manifests  itself. 

354.  The  truly  devotional  and  spiritual  practice  suited 
for  this  Iron-age  (Kali-yuga)  is  the  constant  repetition  of 
the  name  of  the  Lord  of  Love. 

356.  If  thou  wishest  to  see  God,  have  firm  faith  in  the 
efficacy  of  repeating  the  name  of  Hari,  and  try  to  discriminate 
the  real  from  the  unreal. 

356.  When  an  elephant  is  let  loose,  it  goes  about  uproot- 
ing trees  and  shrubs,  but  as  soon  as  the  driver  pricks  him 
on  the  head  with  the  goad  he  becomes  quiet ;  so  the  mind 
when  unrestrained  wantons  in  the  luxuriance  of  idle  thoughts, 
but  becomes  calm  at  once  when  struck  with  the  goad  of 
discrimination. 

357.  Devotional  practices  are  necessary  only  so  long  as 
tears  of  ecstasy  do  not  flow  at  hearing  the  name  of  Hari. 
He  needs  no  devotional  practices  whose  heart  is  moved  to 
tears  at  the  mere  mention  of  the  name  of  Hari. 

358.  The  companionship  of  the  holy  and  wise  is  one  of 
the  main  elements  of  spiritual  progress. 

359.  The  soul  reincarnates  in  a  body  of  which  it  was 


THE   SAYINGS.  l8l 

thinking  just  before  its  last  departure  from  this  world. 
Devotional  practices  may  therefore  be  seen  to  be  very 
necessary.  When,  by  constant  practice,  no  worldly  ideas 
arise  in  the  mind,  then  the  god-idea  alone  fills  the  soul,  and 
does  not  leave  it  even  when  on  the  brink  of  eternity. 

360.  How  should  one  love  God  ?    As  the  true  and  chaste 
wife  loves  her  husband  and  the  niggardly  miser  loves  his 
hoarded  wealth,  so  the  devotee  should  love  the  Lord  with 
all  his  heart  and  soul. 

361.  How  may  we  conquer  the  old  Adam  in  us  ?    When 
the  fruit  grows  out  of  the  flower,  the  petals  of  the  flower 
drop  off  of  themselves.     So,  when  the  divinity  in  thee  in- 
creases, the  weaknesses  of  thy  human  nature  will  all  vanish 
of  their  own  accord. 

362.  363.  When  does  the  attraction  of  sensual  and  worldly 
pleasures   die  away  ?     In  God,  who  is  Indivisible   Ever- 
Existing  Bliss,  there  is  a  consolidation  of  all  happiness  and 
of  all  pleasures.     They  who  enjoy  Him  can  find  no  attrac- 
tion in  the  cheap  and  worthless  pleasures  of  the  world 

364.  In  what  condition  of  the  mind  does  God-vision  take 
place  ?    God  is  seen  when  the  mind  is  tranquil.    When  the 
mental  sea  is  agitated  by  the  wind  of  desires,  it  cannot 
reflect  God,  and  then  God-vision  is  impossible. 

365.  How  may  we  find  our  God?    The  angler,  anxious 
to  hook  a  big  and  beautiful  Rohitta-fish,  waits  calmly  for 
hours  together,  having  thrown  the  bait  and  the  hook  into 
the  water,  watching  patiently  until  the  bait  is  caught  by  the 


I S2       THE  LIFE  AND  SAYINGS  OF  RAMAKK/SHA'A. 

fish.    Similarly,  the  devotee  who  patiently  goes  on  with  his 
devotions  is  sure  at  last  to  find  his  God. 

366.  The  heart  of  a  sinner  is  like  a  curled  hair.    You 
may  pull  it  ever  so  long,  but  will  not  succeed  in  making  it 
straight.     So  also  the  heart  of  the  wicked  cannot  be  easily 
changed. 

367.  Knowledge  leads  to  unity,  and   Ignorance  to  di- 
versity. 

368.  369.  The  society  of  pious  men  is  like  the  water  in 
which  rice  is  washed.     The  rice-water  dissipates  intoxica- 
tion.    So  doth  the  society  of  the  pious  relieve  worldly  men, 
intoxicated  jvith  the  wine  of  desires,  from  their  intoxication. 

370.  The  agent  of  a  rich  Zemindar,  when  he  goes  into 
the  mofussil  or  interior,  tyrannises  in  various  ways  over  the 
tenants.     But  when  he  comes  back  to  the  head-quarters 
under  the  eyes  of  his  master,  he  changes  his  ways,  becomes 
very  pious,  treats  the  tenants  kindly,  inquires  fully  into  all 
their  grievances,  and  tries  to  mete  out  impartial  justice  to 
all.     The  tyrannical  agent  even  becomes  good  through  the 
fear  of  the   landlord,   and   by   the   effect   of  his   society. 
Similarly  doth   the   society  of  the   pious  make  even  the 
wicked  righteous,   awakening  awe    and   reverence  within 
them. 

371.  Moist  wood  placed  upon  a  fire  soon  becomes  dry, 
and  ultimately  begins  to  burn.     Similarly,  the  society  of  the 
pious  drives  away  the  moisture  of  greed  and  lust  from  the 
hearts  of  worldly  men  and  women,  and  then  the  fire  of 
Viveka  (Discrimination)  burns  in  them. 


THE   SAYINGS.  183 

372.  How  should  one  pass  his  or  her  life  ?    As  the  fire 
on  the  hearth  is  stirred  from  time  to  time  with  a  poker  to 
make  it  burn  brightly  and  prevent  it  from  going  out,  so  the 
mind  should  be  invigorated  occasionally  by  the  society  of 
the  pious. 

373.  As  the  blacksmith  keeps  alive  the  fire  of  his  furnace 
by  the  occasional   blowing  of  his   bellows,  so  the  mind 
should  be  kept  a-burning  by  the  society  of  the  pious. 

374.  Throw  an  unbaked  cake  of  flour  into  hot  ghee,  it 
will  make  a  sort  of  boiling  noise.     But  the  more  it  is  fried, 
the  less  becomes  the  noise ;  and  when  it  is  fully  fried  the 
bubbling  ceases  altogether.     So  long  as  a  man  has  little 
knowledge,  he  goes  about  lecturing  and  preaching,  but 
when  the  perfection  of  knowledge  is  obtained,  he  ceases  to 
make  vain  displays. 

375.  That  man  who,  living  in  the  midst  of  the  tempta- 
tions of  the  world,  attains  perfection,  is  the  true  hero. 

376.  We  must  dive  deep  into  the  ocean  of  the  Eternal- 
Intelligent-Bliss.    Fear  not  the  deep-sea  monsters,  Avarice 
and  Anger.     Coat  thyself  with  the  turmeric  of  Discrimina- 
tion  and   Dispassion   (Viveka   and  Vairagya)  and    those 
alligators   will  not  approach   thee,   as  the  scent   of  this 
turmeric  is  too  much  for  them. 

377.  When  unavoidably  entering  into  places  where  there 
may  be  temptation,  carry  always  with  thee  the  thought  of 
thy  Divine  Mother.     She  will  protect  thee  from  the  many 
evils  that  may  be  lurking  even  in  thy  heart.    Cannot  the 


1 84      THE  LIFE  AND  SAYINGS  OF  RAMAK/2/SILtf A. 

presence  of  thy  mother  shame  thee  away  from  evil  deeds 
and  evil  thoughts  ? 

378.  How  may  we  conquer  the  love  of  life?     The 
human  frame  is  made  up  of  decaying  things ;  of  flesh  and 
blood  and  bone.     It  is  a  collection  of  flesh,  bone,  marrow, 
blood,  and  other  filthy  substances  subject  to  putrefaction. 
By  thus  analysing  the  body,  our  love  thereof  vanishes. 

379.  Should  the  devotee  adopt  any  particular  costume  ? 
The  adoption  of  a  suitable  costume  is  good.     Dressed  in 
the  Sa#myasin's   orange   robes,  or   carrying   the   religious 
mendicant's  tambourine  and   cymbals,  a  man  can  never 
utter  light  and  profane  things,  or  sing  profane  songs.     But 
a  man  dressed  in  the  smart  style  of  a  beau  will  naturally 
have  his  heart  inclined  to  think  low  thoughts  and  sing  low 
songs. 

380.  Sometimes  peace  reigns  in  the  heart,  but  why  does 
it  not  always  last  long  ?    The  fire  made  by  the  burning  of  the 
bamboo  is  soon  extinguished  unless  kept  alive  by  constant 
blowing.     Continual  devotion  is  necessary  to  keep  alive  the 
fire  of  spirituality. 

381.  Those  who   live   in   the  world    and   try  to   find 
salvation  are  like  soldiers  that  fight  protected  by  the  breast- 
work of  a  fort,  while  the  ascetics  who  renounce  the  world  in 
search  of  God  are  like  soldiers  fighting  in  the  open  field. 
To  fight  from  within  the  fort  is  safer  than  to  fight  in  the 
open  field.     (Is  this  right  or  should  it  be  transposed  ?) 

882.  Pray  to  the  Divine  Mother  in  this  wise.     Give  me, 


THE   SAYINGS.  185 

O  Mother !   love  that  knows   no   incontinence,  and  faith 
adamantine  that  cannot  be  shaken. 

883.  As  persons  living  in  a  house  infested  by  venomous 
snakes  are  always  alert  and  cautious,  so  should  men  living 
in  the  world  be  always  on  their  guard  against  the  allure- 
ments of  lust  and  greed. 

384.  If  there  is  a  small  hole  in  the  bottom  of  a  jar  of 
water,  the  whole  water  flows  out  of  it  by  that  small  aperture. 
Similarly,  if  there  be  the  smallest  tinge  of  worldliness  in  the 
neophyte,  all  his  exertions  come  to  naught. 

385.  When   the  butter    is   produced   by  churning   the 
whey,  it  should  not  be  kept  in  the  same  vessel  containing 
the  remaining  whey,  for  then  it  will  lose  something  of  its 
sweetness  and  cohesion.     It  should  be  kept  in  pure  water 
and  in  a  different  vessel.     So  after  attaining  some  partial 
perfection  in  the  world,  if  one  still  continues  to  mix  with 
the  worldly,  and  remains  in  the  midst  of  the  world,  it  is 
likely  that  he  will  be  tainted  ;  but  he  will  remain  pure  if  he 
lives  out  of  it. 

386.  You  cannot  live  in  a  sooty  room  without  blackening 
your  body  to  some  extent,  however  small  it  may  be,  with 
all  your  caution.     So,  if  a  man  or  a  woman  lives  in  the 
company  of  one  of  his  or  her  opposite  sex  of  the  same  age, 
with  the  greatest  circumspection  and  control  over  his  or  her 
passion,  still  some  carnal  thought,  however  small,  is  sure  to 
arise  in  his  or  her  mind. 

387.  Two  persons,  it  is  said,  began  together  the  rite  of 


I  86      THE  LIFE  AND  SAYINGS  OF  RAMAK/2/SIDVA. 

invoking  the  Goddess  Kali  by  the  terrible  process  called 
'  .Savasadhana.'  (This  Tantrik  invocation  is  performed  in 
the  cemetery  yard,  the  invoker  sitting  on  the  body  of  a  corpse 
in  a  dark  night.)  One  invoker  was  frightened  to  insanity 
by  the  horrors  of  the  earlier  portion  of  the  night ;  the  other 
was  favoured  with  the  vision  of  the  Divine  Mother  at  the 
end  of  the  night.  Then  he  asked  her,  '  Mother  !  why  did 
the  other  man  become  mad  ? '  The  Deity  answered, '  Thou 
too,  O  child  !  didst  become  mad  many  times  in  thy  various 
previous  births,  and  now  at  last  thou  seest  me.' 

388.  There  are  various  sects  among  the  Hindus ;  which 
sect  or  which  creed  should  we  then  adopt  ?  Parvati  once 
asked  Mahadeva,  '  O  Lord  !  what  is  the  root  of  the  Eternal, 
Everlasting,  All-embracing  Bliss  ? '  To  her  Mahadeva  thus 
replied, '  The  root  is  faith.'  The  peculiarities  of  creeds  and 
sects  matter  little  or  nothing.  Let  every  one  perform  with 
faith  the  devotions  and  the  duties  of  his  own  creed. 

889.  As  a  little  boy  or  a  girl  can  have  no  idea  of 
conjugal  affection,  even  so  a  worldly  man  cannot  at  all 
comprehend  the  ecstasy  of  Divine  communion. 

390.  The  body  is  transient  and  unimportant.  Why  then 
is  it  so  much  looked  after?  No  one  cares  for  an  empty 
box.  But  people  carefully  preserve  the  box  that  contains 
money  and  other  valuable  property.  The  virtuous  cannot 
but  take  care  of  the  body,  the  temple  of  the  soul  in  which 
God  has  manifested  Himself  or  which  has  been  blessed  by 
God's  advent. 


THE   SAYINGS.  187 

391.  How  long  does  godliness  remain  in  man?    The 
iron  is  red  so  long  as  it  is  in  fire.     It  is  black  the  moment 
it  is  removed  from  fire.     So  the  human  being  is  godly  so 
long  as  he  is  in  communion  with  God. 

392.  Soft  clay  admits  of  forms,  but  the  burnt  clay  does 
not.     So  those  whose  hearts  are  consumed  with  the  desire 
of  worldly  things  cannot  realise  higher  ideas. 

393.  As  the  water  and  its  bubbles  are  one,  and  as  the 
bubbles  have  their  birth  in  the  water,  float  on  the  water, 
and  ultimately  are  resolved  into  water;  so  the  Civatman 
and  the  Paramatman  are  one  and  the  same  :  the  difference 
is  in  degrees — the  one  is  finite  and  small,  the  other  is 
infinite  ;  the  one  is  dependent,  the  other  independent. 

394.  395.  When  the  tail  of  the  tadpole  drops  off,  it  can 
live  both  in  water  and  on  land.     When  the  tail  of  ignorance 
drops  off,  man  becomes  free.     He  can  then  live  both  in 
God  and  in  the  world  equally  well. 


INDEX   TO  THE   SAYINGS1. 


[The  references  in  this  Index  correspond  to  the  numbering  of  the 
Sayings  in  this  volume] 


Adam,  how  to  conquer  the  old, 
361. 

Adore  where  others  do,  311. 

Advice  of  many,  leads  to  con- 
fusion, 146,  148. 

Affairs,  danger  of  being  absorbed 
in  others',  228. 

Agriculturalist  and  Vish«u,  167. 

Ahawkara,  vanity  or  egoism,  70. 

Almighty,  the,  dwells  in  every 
place,  12. 

—  visible  form  of,  the  materialised 
manifestation    of  the    formless 
Brahman,  36. 

—  sight  of,  gives  safety,  72. 

—  power  of,  lasting,  73. 

—  power  of,   makes  a   man   in- 
capable of  evil,  74. 

—  absorbing  effect  of,  77. 

—  arguments  cease  in  presence  of, 
78. 

—  how  to  reach,  134. 

—  man's  home  at  feet  of,  1 75. 


Almighty,  the,  grace  of,  190. 

—  disperses    accumulated    ignor- 
ance and  sin,  191. 

—  source  of  light  of  the  spirit, 
224. 

—  transmits  truth  through  teachers, 
224,  225. 

—  image  of,  reflected,  240. 
Alphabet,  Bengali,  in. 
Amla  fruit,  world  like,  263. 
Anger,  shortlived  in  good   men, 

237- 
Ant  distinguishes  sand  from  sugar, 

,      112. 

Ar^nna,  human  being  and  Divinity, 

55- 

Aspirant,  may  live  in  the  world 
but  it  should  not  live  in  him, 
301. 

—  like  a  bird,  294. 

—  tears,  the  strength  of,  306. 
Avadhuta,    twenty  -  four     Gurus, 

147. 


1  This  Index  was  made  for  a  collection  of  the  Sayings  of  Raina- 
krzshwa  which  was  sent  to  me  in  manuscript.  When  the  MS.  came  to 
be  printed  there  were  several  sayings  which  had  been  given  twice.  As 
these  had  to  be  left  out  when  they  occurred  the  second  time,  it  was 
necessary  to  assign  two  numbers  to  some  of  the  sayings  in  order  not  to 
disturb  the  figures  of  the  Index. 


190 


INDEX. 


Avadhfita  and  banter,  280. 

—  and  fisher,  281.        • 

—  and  heron,  282. 

—  and  kite,  283. 

Avatara  or  Saviour,  messenger  of 

God,  51. 
Avataras,  Kr/»h«a  and  Christ  as, 

52- 

—  keep  knowledge  to  themselves, 
216. 

Baddha,  fettered,  137. 
Ba-kalama  (sic},  resigning  the  self 

to  will  of  Almighty,  343. 
Barber  and  jars  of  gold,  261. 
Bee  like  a  Yogin,  119. 
Believer,  true,  never  discouraged, 

103. 

Bengali  alphabet,  in. 
Bhagavan,  glory  of  the,  266. 

—  Sit   Rama£andra,  journey   to 
Ceylon,  203. 

recognised  by  seven  sages, 

49- 

Bhigavata,  scripture,  16. 

—  knowledge  of,  290. 
Bhakta  or  true  lover,  136,  268. 
Bigot,  like  frog  in  well,  248. 
Bigotry,  to  be  eschewed,  247. 
Blind    men,    the,    and    the    ele- 
phant. 5. 

Body,  playground  of  Deity,  334. 

—  transient  and  unimportant,  390. 

—  temple  of  the  soul,  390. 
Books,  mere  reading  of,  will  not 

make  a  man  religions,  242. 
Boon  or  grand-dame,  in  hide  and 

seek,  72. 
Boy  and  goat,  likeness  between, 

300. 
Lrahmaism   and   Hinduism,   252, 

353- 

Brahman  (Brahma),  fire  of,  causes 
mind  to  perform  its  functions, 
20. 

—  God  the  Absolute  and  Eternal, 
31. 


Brahman  (Brahma\  sometimes 
with  attributes,  sometimes  with- 
out, 35. 

—  all-pervading  and  formless,  36. 

—  visible  Almighty  a  manifesta- 
tion of,  36. 

—  Saviours  are   to    Brahma    as 
waves  to  ocean,  57. 

—  Deities,  manifestations  of,  141. 

—  Human  soul  loses   individual 
existence  in  ocean  of,  208. 

—  temptations  in  path  towards, 

2£7- 

—  inexpressible,  276. 

—  hides  behind  Maya,  313. 

—  sea  of,  330. 

Brahman  and  low-caste  servant, 
parable  of,  277. 

—  and  king,  story  of,  290 

—  and  Sawnyasin,  story  of,  342. 
Brahmana  and  his  garden,  144. 
Brahmanical  thread,  221. 
Bubbles  and  water  are  one,  393. 
Bnrdwan,  Maharajah  of,  141. 

Cage,  no  value  when    bird    has 

flown,  287. 
Calcutta,    many    roads    lead    to, 

148. 
Caste,  distinctions  of,  disregarded 

by  a  perfect  man,  218,  219,  220, 

221. 

Cat  scratched  by  Kartikeya,  222. 
Ceylon  or  Lawka,  203. 
Chameleon,  many  colours  of,  3. 
Chelas     (disciples),     very     rare, 

155- 

Child,  simplicity  of,  97,  241. 
Children  at  play,  81. 
Christ  and  Ksisima,  both  Avataras, 

5*- 

Clay,  burnt  and  soft,  392. 
Cloth,  doll  of,  136. 
Conceit  of  Narada,  167. 
Contemplation,  perfection  of.  188. 
Contentment  is  happiness,  261. 
Costume  of  devotee,  379. 


INDEX. 


Creeds,  paths  to  reach  the  Al- 
mighty, 6. 

—  and  sects,  matter  nothing,  200, 
388. 

Crow,  wisest  of  birds,  166. 

Dala,  sedges  and  schism,  105,  275. 

Darkness  of  centuries  dispersed  at 
once  by  light,  191. 

Deities,  manifestations  of  Brah- 
man, 141. 

—  not  to  be  compared,  141. 

—  all  to  be  honoured,  250. 
Deity,    daily    contemplation    of, 

necessary,  82. 
Desires  of  holiness,  devotion,  and 

love  not  to  be  reckoned  among 

desires,  176. 
Devotee,  stages  in  path  of  devotion, 

33- 

—  loath  to  relate  experiences,  87. 

—  sacrifices  life  to  God,  88. 

—  pleasure  in  meeting  a  fellow, 
91. 

—  tears,  the  strength  of,  92. 

—  a  child  of  God,  92. 

—  retains  faith  and  love,  though 
surrounded  by  impurities  of  the 
world,  95. 

—  desires  God  only,  97. 

—  never  wearies  of  praise,  101. 

—  inspired  by  God,  102. 

—  heart  of,  fired  by  name  of  God, 
124. 

—  reminds  men  of  God,  230. 

-  progress  stopped  by  desires, 

273. 

—  costume  of,  379. 

Devotees,  those  out  of  the  world 

are  perfect,  319. 
Devotion,    difficult    to    practise, 

118. 

—  many  slips  in  path  of,  178. 

—  how  possible  when  working  for 
daily  bread,  205. 

—  keep  aloof  from  scoffers  during, 
274. 


Devotion,  continual,  necessary  to 
keep  up  fire  of  spirituality,  380. 

Disciple,  must  not  criticise  Guru, 
149. 

—  faith  in  power  of  Guru,  154 

—  a  good  one  very  rare,  155. 
Dispute  not,  272. 

Divine  Glory,  effect  on  man, 
179. 

—  Mother  in  every  woman,  222, 
223. 

—  Light  falls  impartially  on  all 
hearts,  239. 

—  Illumination,  only  comes  to 
those  who  are  simple  as  a  child, 
241. 

—  Communion,  incomprehensible 
to  worldly  man,  389. 

Divinity,  manifested  in  greater  de- 
gree in  those  who  are  honoured, 

14- 

—  Sacrifice  made  in  Incarnation, 

56. 

—  weakness  of  humanity  vanishes 
at  increase  of,  177,  361. 

—  manifests  itself  after  death  of 
Humanity,  183. 

—  self  merged  in,  206. 

—  manifests  itself  when  egoism 
dies  away,  353. 

Do  yourself  what  you  wish  others 

to  do,  158. 
Dolls,  the  three,  136. 
Doubt  is  death,  204. 
Durga,  mother  of  Kartikeya,  222. 

Earnestness,  necessary,  145. 
Egoism,  disappears  when  know- 
ledge comes,  160. 

—  marks  of,  never  eradicated,  162, 
163. 

—  shuts  out  God  from  the  heart, 
164. 

—  death  of,  gets  salvation,  331. 

—  drops  away  and  Divinity  mani- 
fests itself,  353. 

Egos,  two  in  man,  161. 


192 


INDEX. 


Elephant  and  blind  men,  5. 

—  God  in  the,  15. 

Faith,  true,  ends  all  quarrel  and 
dispute,  So. 

—  weak,  easily  shaken,  96. 

—  achieves  miracles,   154,    202, 
203,  204. 

—  only  clue  to  reach  God,  200. 

—  he  who  has,  has  all,  201. 

—  who  has  not,  wants  all,  201. 

—  is  life,  204. 

—  be  steadfast  in,  247,  272. 

—  liberty  of,  272. 

—  should  be  protected  in  the  be- 
ginning, 304. 

—  must  devote  ourselves  to  single 
object  of,  325. 

—  how  to  attain  firm,  333. 

—  root  of  Eternal  Bliss,  388. 
Faith-healers,  202. 

Fault  of  holy  man  intensified  by 

surrounding  purity,  238. 
Fire  of  Brahman,  working  of,  20. 

—  no  definite  shape,  322. 
Fisher  women,  story  of,  174. 
Flint,   always    retains  inner  fire, 

95- 
Fly    and    honey-bee,    contrasted, 

119. 

Fool,  puffed  up  with  vanity,  236. 
'Forbear'  in  Bengali,  Hi. 
Free,  when  shall  I  be?  206. 
Frog  in  a  well,  248. 

Gagannatha,  Lord  of  the  Universe, 
169. 

Ganaka,  King,  122,  124. 

Garlic,  odour  of,  lasting,  162. 

6ivatman  and  Paramatman,  re- 
lation between,  278,  393. 

(7«ana,  knowledge  of  the  Absolute, 

333- 
Goat,  moves  after  decapitation,  70. 

—  story  of  young,  295. 

God,  compared  with  stars  by  day 
and  by  night,  I. 


God,  worshipped  under  different 
names,  2,  4,  9. 

—  multiform,  3. 

—  appears  to  us  in  whatever  form 
we  desire  to  call  Him,  4. 

—  different  ways  of  worshipping, 

7- 

—  many  aspects  of,  8,  10,  309. 

—  present  even  in  tiger  or  wicked 
man,  13. 

—  everything  that  exists  is,  15. 

—  to  be  regarded  in  same  light  as 
His  Scripture  and  His  devotee, 
1 6. 

—  impossible  to  live  without,  19. 

—  both  the  snake  and  the  charmer, 
21. 

—  both  judge  and  executioner,  2 1 . 

—  incites  the  thief,  22. 

—  warns  the  householder,  22. 

—  dwells  in  the  body,  yet  apart 
from  it,  23. 

—  omnipotence  of,  24. 

—  screened  by  Maya,  25,  270, 

—  like  the  wishiug-tree,  26. 

—  with  and  without  form,  28,  32, 
33,  3". 

—  the   Father  of  the  Universe, 

31- 

—  the  Absolute  and  Eternal  Brah- 
man, 31. 

—  with  form  is  visible,  34. 

—  is  Intelligence,  37. 

—  reached  by  prayer  and  penance, 

53- 

—  divine  sages,  like  kinsmen  of, 
61. 

—  ordinary  men  the  creatures  of, 
61. 

—  separable  from  Miya,  64. 

—  infinite  Love  of,  75. 

—  man  in  the  midst  of  confusion 
of  argument  and  reasoning  when 
away  from,  78. 

—  he  who    has   found  Him,   is 
quiet,  79,  86. 

—  devotee  a  child  of,  92. 


INDEX. 


193 


God,  like  a  hill  of  sugar,  98. 

—  inspires  His  devotees,  102. 

—  will  send  Master,  145. 

—  how  to  reach,  146,  148,   369, 
292. 

—  and  man,  brought  together  by 
Guru,  150. 

—  Father  and  Guide  of  Humanity, 

153- 

—  he  who  yearns  for,  finds,  159. 

—  shut  out  from  heart  by  egoism, 
164. 

—  nearest  and  dearest,  169. 

—  attracted  by  violent  love,  170. 

—  knower  of,  171. 

—  why  trouble  Him  for  what  we 
can  do  ourselves,  171. 

—  only  a  lover  enters  into  the  inner 
mysteries  of,  172. 

—  sacrifice  all  to  find,  182. 

—  concentration  necessary  to  find- 
ing of,  1 84. 

—  how  best  found,  184,  365. 

—  heart  must  be  kept  full  of  love 
for,  187. 

—  all-pervading  Spirit,  189. 

—  Soul  immersed  in,  189. 

—  resignation  to  mercy  of,  195. 

—  only  reached  by  faith,  200. 

—  provided  for  us,  before  sending 
us  into  the  world,  205. 

—  gives  order  and  inspiration  to 
preacher,  211. 

—  in  all  men,  215. 

—  all  men  not  in,  215. 

—  all  will  see,  217. 

—  devotee  reminds  men  of,  230. 

—  heart  pants  after,  like  miser 
after  gold,  264. 

—  must  be  calm  in  orderto  see,  203. 

—  Omnipresent,  270. 

—  how  to  concentrate  the  heart 
on,  285. 

—  man  cannot  live  without,  288. 

—  source  of  all  holy  inspiration, 
297. 

—  mind  fixed  on,  never  soiled,  305. 


God,    meditate    on,    in   solitude, 

3°7- 

—  holds  us  back  from  temptation, 
320. 

—  hears  footfall  of  ant,  323. 

—  book-learning  can  give  no  idea 
of,  324. 

—  children  of,   feel  no  anxiety, 
336. 

—  those  who  depend  on,  move  in 
harmony  with  will  of,  345. 

—  perform  worldly  duties,  holding 
fast  to,  349,  350. 

—  how  to  love,  360. 

—  Indivisible  Ever-Existing  Bliss, 

363- 

God,  attributes  of,  only  realised 
by  communion  with  Him,  18. 

too  vast  for  man's  compre- 
hension, 98. 

God,  grace  of,  purifies  sin,  197. 

prayers  and  penances  dis- 
carded when  it  descends,  199. 

God,  greatness  of,  man  too  far 
away  to  comprehend,  40. 

God,  knowledge  of,  like  a  man, 
172. 

—  —  and  love,  ultimately  the 
same,  173. 

God,  love  of,  like  a  woman,  172. 
God,  name  of,  merit  in,  41,  43, 

44- 

ecstasy  on  hearing,  too. 

God,  will  of,  resignation  to,  93. 
God,  worship  of,  preachingenough, 

210. 
Godliness,  how  long  it  remains  in 

man,  391. 

Godly  men,  inspired  by  God,  297. 
God-men,   souls    beyond  pale  of 

Karman,  142. 

God-vision,  how  attained,  364. 
Gold  and  brass,  how  distinguished, 

*45- 

—  seven  jars  of,  201. 

Good  and  bad,  sifted  by  pious 
men,  112,  113. 


194 


INDEX. 


Goptnatha,  beloved,  169. 
Grace,  divine,  changes  men,  192. 
Grace  of  God,  purifies  sin,  197. 

—  —  a  breeze  always  blowing, 
198. 

prayers  and  penances  dis- 
carded, when  it  descends,  1 99. 

Great,  be  low  and  meek  if  thon 
wonldst  be,  235. 

Greed  brings  woe,  261. 

Guhaka  Aran<&la  of  Ramayana, 

43- 
Guide,  one  to  be  chosen,  146, 148. 

—  spiritual,  more  than  mere  man, 
303. 

Guru,  guide  to  God,  146. 

—  sent  by  God,  145. 

—  necessary,  147. 

—  to  be  implicitly  obeyed,  149. 

—  not  to  be  criticised,  149,  152. 

—  is  Mediator,  150. 

—  faith  in  powers  of,  154. 

—  difference  between  human  and 
divine,  284. 

Habit,  power  of,  174, 

Hanumin,     monkey  -  servant     of 

Bhagavan  Sri  Ramajfeandra,  203. 
Happiness,  divine   enjoyment    in 

whatever  gives,  227. 

—  is  contentment,  261. 
Hari,  personal  deity,  31. 

—  praise    of,   efficacious    in    ex- 
cluding Satan,  42. 

— '  He  who   steals   our   hearts,' 

»54- 

—  mental  concentration  acquired 
by  chanting  name  of,  308. 

—  efficacy  in  repeating  name  of, 

355- 

—  tears    of   ecstasy    on    hearing 
name  of,  357. 

Haribala,  'Hari  is  our  strength,' 

254- 

Ileart,  full  of  vanity,  prayer  has  no 
effect  on,  165. 

—  power  of  reading  the,  259. 


Heart,  pants  after  God  like  miser 
after  gold,  264. 

—  how  to  concentrate  on   God, 
285. 

—  must  be  guarded,  290. 

—  easily  influenced  when  young, 

3?5- 

—  of  man,  directed  towards  God, 

34°- 

—  must  not  swerve  from  true  path, 

341- 

—  consumed  with  worldly  things, 

392- 

Hemp-smoker,  no  pleasure  in 
smoking  alone,  90. 

Hero,  true,  he  who  attains  per- 
fection amid  temptations  of  the 
world,  375. 

Hindu  almanacs  and  rainfall,  242. 

Hinduism  and   Brahmaism,   252, 

253. 

Hindus,  sects  among,  388. 
Holy  and  wise,  companionship  of, 

3»8. 

Homa,  bird,  60. 
Honey-bee    and    fly,    contrasted, 

119. 
Human  frailties  of  teacher,  to  be 

disregarded,  151. 
Humanity  must  die  before  Divinity 

manifests  itself,  183. 
Humility,  virtue  of,  235,  236. 
Husbandman     and     sugar-cane, 

273- 

Ignorance  and  knowledge,  com- 
prised under  ignorance,  332. 

—  leads  to  diversity,  367. 
Incarnation,  flood  of,  53. 
Individual  existence,  lost  in  ocean 

of  Brahman,  208. 
Indra,  deity  of  hand,  144. 
Intelligence,  God  is,  37. 
Intolerance  to  be  escr.ev.  ed,  247. 
Iron  changed  to  gold,  73. 

Jack-fruit,  329, 


INDEX. 


195 


Jesus,   inner  Soul  separate  from 
physical  shell,  62. 

—  physical  pain  no  effect  on,  62. 

Kali,  temple  of,  109. 

—  goddess,  rite  of  invoking,  387. 
Kalpa-vrzksha,  wishing-tree,  26. 
Karman,  heart  of  God-men  be- 
yond pale  of,  142. 

Kartikeya,     leader    of    heavenly 

army,  222. 
Kite  and  fish,  283. 
Knowledge,  tme,   causes   egoism 

to  disappear,  160. 

—  of  God,  like  a  man,  172. 

—  entry  only  to  outer  rooms   of 
God,  172. 

—  and  love,  ultimately  the  same, 

173- 

—  true,  of  one  universal  existence, 
219. 

—  of  True,  gained  by  forgetting 
worldly  knowledge,  241. 

—  and  ignorance  comprised  under 
Nescience,  332. 

—  leads  to  unity,  367. 

—  a  little  makes  a  noise,  374. 
Krishna,    life    and    exploits    of, 

342- 

—  and    Christ,    both    Avataras, 

52. 
Kshira,  condensed  milk,  317. 

Lawka,  Ceylon,  203. 
Lead,  dissolved  by  mercury,  208. 
Life    sacrificed    to    God    by    re- 
nunciation, 88. 

—  of  wise  man,  a  religion  acted 
out,  157. 

—  love  of,  how  conquered,  378. 
Light  disperses  darkness  of  cen- 
turies, 191. 

—  spiritual,  illumines  true  man, 
212. 

—  divine,  falls  impartially  on  all 
hearts,  239. 

Loadstone  rock,  75. 


Lord,  advent  of,  preceded  by  un- 
selfishness, &c.,  193. 

—  prepares  heart  to  receive  Him, 
194. 

—  unseen  until  He  reveals  Him- 
self, 196. 

—  all  mercy,  311. 

—  of  Love,  repetition  of  name  of, 

354- 

Lotus-leaf,  like  perfect  man,  66. 
Love,  three  kinds  of,  168. 

—  of  God,  like  a  woman,  172. 

—  and  knowledge,  ultimately  the 
same,  173. 

—  of  God,  heart  must  be  kept 
full  of,  187. 

—  of  life,  how  conquered,  378. 
Lover  of  God,  ardent  and  luke- 
warm, 170. 

Lust  and  greed,  no  effect  on  him 
who  has  acquired  true  know-, 
ledge,  1 80. 

Mahadeva  on  faith,  388. 
Mahatman  and  snake,  286. 
Malaya   breeze,  converts  trees  to 

sandal- trees,  193. 
Man,  emancipated,  like  burnt  rope, 

68. 

—  freed  by  touch  of  Almighty, 
72. 

—  playing  in  the  world  like  child 
with  doll,  81. 

—  truly    religious,   no    difference 
when  alone,  no. 

—  two  Egos  in,  161. 

—  knowledge  of  God  like  a,  172. 

—  his  home  at  feet  of  Almighty, 

175- 

—  true,  illumined  with  Spiritual 
Light,  212,  339. 

—  Soul  enchained  is,  213. 

—  of  merit,  always  humble,  236. 

—  heated  in  furnace  of  persecution, 
246. 

—  cannot  live  without  God,  288. 

—  easily  led  away,  315. 


O  2 


196 


INDEX. 


Man  becomes  free  when  tail  of 
ignorance  drops  off,  395. 

Mantra  of  Guru  to  be  followed, 
human  frailties  disregarded,  151. 

Marksman,  how  trained,  30. 

Maya,  screens  God  from  human 
view,  25,  270. 

—  ocean  of,  45. 

—  God  intimately  connected  with, 
64. 

—  necessary  to  life,  71. 

—  illusion  of,  266. 

—  worldly  man  engrossed  in,  267. 

—  eyes  covered  with  film  of,  270. 

—  screen  of,  271. 

—  flies  away  as  soon  as  found  out, 
277,  321. 

—  limitations  of,  278. 

—  or  Nescience,  power  of,  312. 

—  mask  of  Brahman,  313. 

—  fever  of,  314. 

Men,  three  sorts  of,  137. 

—  God  in  all,  215. 

—  all  not  in  God,  215. 

—  two  sorts  of,  216. 

—  without  original  thoughts,  260. 
Mercury  dissolves  lead,  208. 
Mind,  concentration  of,  learnt  first 

by  fixing  it  on  forms,  then  on 
the  formless,  29,  30. 

—  evil  propensities  of,  229. 

—  compass-needle  of  ship  of  life, 
279. 

—  difficult  to  concentrate,  298. 

—  fixed    on   God,    never   soiled, 

3°5- 

—  ruled  like  elephant,  356. 

—  invigorated  by  society  of  pious, 

372,  373- 
Miracle-workers,  warning  against, 

257- 
Miracles  worked  by  faith,    154, 

202,  203,  204. 
Mirror,  soiled,  does  not  reflect  rays 

of  sun,  266. 
Money,  like  water  passing  under 

a  bridge,  67. 


Money,  not  sole  end  and  aim,  224. 
Moon  or  '  Uncle  Moon,'  153. 
Moth,   having    seen    light    never 

returns  to  darkness,  88. 
Mother,  Deity  addressed  as,  89. 
Mother    Divine,    worshipped    in 

various  forms,  6. 
why  invisible,  271. 

—  —  protects  from  temptation, 

377- 

prayer  to,  382. 

Mountains    and    plains,   different 

view  from,  85. 

—  under  the  sea,  invisible,  86. 
Mukta,  released,  137. 
Mnktapurusha,  one   who  merres 

himself  in    the  Universal   Self, 

136- 

Mungoose  in  house,  175. 
Mutual  love,  168. 

Name  of  God,  merit  in  pronounc- 
ing, 41.  43,  44- 

Narada,  Divine  Sage,  167. 

Narayawa,  all  water  brooded  over 
by,  12. 

—  every  being  is,  17. 

Nectar,  trough  of,  makes  immortal, 

44- 

Neophyte,  harmed  by  mixing  with 
the  world,  76. 

—  spiritual  exercises  necessary  to, 

133- 

—  worldliness  in,  384. 
Nescience,  or  Maya,  power  of,  312. 

—  mask  of  Brahman,  313. 

—  knowledge  and  ignorance  com- 
prised under,  332. 

Nitya  Siddhas,  ever-perfect,  59, 
60. 

Ocean  of  Sat-£it-ananda,  186. 
Oyster,  pearl,  94. 

Pandits,  false,  like  vultures,  140. 
Parabrahman,    mind    turned    to- 
wards, 279. 


INDEX. 


Parama"tman  and  £ivatman,  rela- 
tion between,  278,  393. 

—  contemplation  of,  281. 
Paramahawsa,  soul  and  swan,  64. 
Parents,  guardians,  and  trustees  of 

children,  351. 

Parrot  and  Divine  Name,  115. 

Parvati  or  Eternal  Bliss,  388. 

Pearl,  how  fashioned,  94. 

Pelican,  not  wetted  by  water,  69. 

Perfect  man,  in  the  world  but  un- 
touched by  it,  65,  66,  69. 

freed  from  egoism,  yet  alive, 

68,  70. 

observes  no  caste  distinctions, 

2l8,    219,  22O,  221. 

reflects  image  of  Almighty, 

240. 

—  —   influence    diffused   every- 
where, 294. 

Perfection,  state  of,  181. 

Persecution,  a  touchstone,  245. 

Persevere  until  help  comes.  291. 

Personal  God,  rises  from  Imper- 
sonal, 36. 

Philosopher's  stone,  73,  74. 

Pillow-case,  man  compared  with, 
ii. 

Pious  man,  sifts  good  from  bad, 
112,  113. 

dead  even  in  life,  114. 

only  temporarily  despondent, 

234- 

society  of,  like  rice-water, 

369. 

—  —  makes  wicked    righteous, 

37°- 
drives  away  lust  and  greed, 

3?i. 

—  —    invigorates    mind,    372, 

373- 
Potter,  makes  many-shaped  vessels 

out  of  same  clay,  9. 
Power,  comes  to  those  who  think 

they  have  it,  202. 
Prayer,  no  effect  on  heart  filled 

with  vanity,  165. 


I97 


Prayer  and  penance  not  necessary 
to  him  who  has  reached  God, 
82. 

discarded  when  grace  of 

God  descends,  199. 

Preacher,  inspired  by  God,  an. 

—  with  undeveloped  spirituality, 
347- 

Preaching,  present  method  of,  209. 

—  worthless  without  inspiration, 
an. 

Property,  division  of,  38. 
Prophet,  why  not  honoured  by  his 
own  kinsmen,  231. 

—  spirit  of,  manifests  itself  at  a 
distance,  232.  ' 

—  appreciated  at  a  distance,  232, 

233- 

Psychic  powers,  dangerous,  257. 

Pupil,  the,  and  the  elephant,  story 
of,  15. 

Pura«as,  defiled  by  constant  re- 
petition, 276. 

Pure  in  heart  see  God,  266. 

Purity  precedes  advent  of  the  Lord, 

193. 

—  of  holy  men,  intensifies  faults, 

23*. 

—  difficult  to  keep  in  the  world, 
385. 

Kama,  God,  43. 

—  human  being  and  Divinity,  55. 
Rank  and  position,  no  difference 

in  Divine  sight,  85. 
Ras-flowers,  295. 
Raslila  festival,  295. 
Reliance,  nature  of  absolute,  344. 
Religion,  no    effect    on    worldly 

man,  130. 

—  easy  to  talk,  difficult  to  act, 
156,  157. 

—  life  of  wise  man,  a   religion 
acted  out,  157. 

—  not  learnt  from  books,  242. 

—  every,  a  way  to  reach  God, 
269. 


198 


INDEX. 


Religion,    rites    and    ceremonies 
necessary  to  growth  of,  326. 

—  every   man  should  follow  his 
own,  337. 

Religions,  why  they  degenerate, 

H3- 

—  respect  for  other,  251. 

—  all    paths    leading    to   truth, 

351- 
Religious  preaching,  309. 

—  sentiments,   not  to   be   talked 
about,  135. 

Reticence  very  desirable,  135. 
Rice-water,  dissipates  intoxication, 

3°9- 
Rites  and  ceremonies,  necessary 

for  growth  of  religion,  326. 
unnecessary  to  him  who 

has  attained  highest  growth,  327. 
Rohitta-fish,  365. 
Rope,  retains  form  when  burnt, 

but  of  no  use,  68. 

Sadhakas,  few  get  free,  207. 
Sadhu,  the,  and  the  wicked  man, 

63- 

—  makes  no  distinction  between 
friend  and  foe,  63. 

—  characteristics  of,  109. 

—  the,  and  the  dog,  109. 

—  false,  143. 

—  true  and  false,  discovered  in 
persecution,  245. 

Sadhns  (saints),  dispense  heavenly 
truths,  225. 

—  reflect  Light  Divine,  239. 
Sage,  recognised  alone  by  sage, 

107,  108. 

—  in  trance,  108. 

Sages,  Divine,  like    kinsmen    of 

God,  61. 

Saint,  vanity  of,  318. 
Salt,  doll  of,  136. 
Salvation  got  by  death  of  egoism, 

33Ai-  . 
Samadhi,  trance,  108. 

—  state  of  bliss,  185,  186. 


Sand  and  sugar,  distinguished  by 
ant,  112. 

Sandal,  trees  changed  to,  by  Ma- 
laya breeze,  192. 

Sawnyasin,  has  no  home,  like  a 
snake,  106. 

Satan  kept  out  by  praise  of  Hari, 
42. 

Sat-£it-ananda,  Ocean  of,  186. 

—  the     Everlasting     Intelligent 
Bliss,  2. 

—  various  forms,  3. 

—  solidified,  36. 

—  tree  of,  50. 

.Savasadhana,  rite  of  invoking  god- 
dess Kali,  387. 

Saviour,  carries  thousands  across 
ocean  of  Maya,  45. 

—  saves  all,  46,  47,  48,  54. 

—  carries    multitudes   to   feet   of 
Almighty,  48. 

—  sent  to  rekindle  religion,  51. 
Saviours  are  to  Brahman  as  waves 

to  the  sea,  57. 

Sects  and  creeds  matter  nothing, 
200,  388. 

—  how  created,  275. 

—  among  Hindus,  388. 
Self,  universal,  1 36. 

—  merged  in  Divinity,  306. 

—  knowledge  of,  221. 
Self-reliance,  danger  of,  93. 
Selfish  love,  lowest  kind.  168. 
Shepherd  women  of  Vrtndavana, 

169. 
Siddha,  state  to  which  he  attains, 

5»- 

—  =  perfect  man  and  well-cooked 
food,  58. 

—  five  kinds  of,  59. 
Siddha-purnsha  like  an  archaeo- 
logist, 54. 

Siddhas,  save  themselves  by  pain 
and  penance,  46,  47,  48. 

—  spread  knowledge,  316. 
Sieve,  wicked  man  compared  to  a, 

138- 


INDEX. 


199 


Sin,  purged  by  uttering  Name  of 
the  Almighty,  43. 

—  purified  by  grace  of  God,  197. 

—  never  concealed,  255. 

Sinner  saved  by  resignation  to  will 

of  God,  195. 

Sita,  human  being  and  divinity,  55. 
Siva  and  Vishwu,  which  the  greater, 

141. 

—  soul  free  from  chain,  is,  213. 

—  and  bigoted  worshipper,  249. 
Snake  and  Mahalman,  286. 
Snow,  1 8. 

Soul  attracted   by  magnetism  of 
Universal  Consciousness,  75. 

—  having  attained  Godhead,  un- 
influenced by  world,  76. 

—  immersed  in  God,  189. 

—  loses    individual    existence    in 
ocean  of  Brahman,  208. 

—  free  from  chain  is  Siva.,  213. 

—  enchained  is  man,  213. 

—  how  it  stays  in  body,  293. 

—  re-incarnation  of,  359. 
Spiritual  Light  illumines  true  man, 

212. 

—  progress  impossible  without  dis- 
crimination and  dispassion,  352. 

—  progress,  main  elements  of,  358. 
Srt  Krzshwa.  Radha,  human  being 

and  divinity,  55. 
Stars,  invisible  by  day,  I. 
Stone,  impervious  to  water,   96, 

126,  136. 

—  doll  of,  136. 

Sugar  and  sand,  distinguished  by 

ant,  112. 
Sun,  power  of,  164. 

—  reflected    best    from    polished 
surfaces,  239,  266. 

Svati,  star,  94. 
Svati-rain,  94. 
Swan,  peculiarity  of,  64. 

Tadpole,  395. 

Tantras,  defiled  by  constant  repe- 
tition, 276. 


Teachers,  channel  through  which 
light  is  transmitted,  224. 

Tears,  strength  of  a  devotee,  92, 
306. 

—  of   repentance    and  happiness 
flow    from     different    corners, 
256. 

Thoughts  and  words,  harmony 
between,  303. 

Tiger,  God  present  in  the,  13. 

Treacle  and  candy,  difference  be- 
tween, 227. 

Truth,  ottered  by  lunatics,  drunk- 
ards, and  children,  39. 

—  all  religious  paths  leading  to, 
251- 

Universal  Consciousness,  mag- 
netism of,  75. 

—  Existence,  knowledge  of,  219. 

—  Self,  knowledge  of,  329. 
Unselfish  love,  highest  kind,  i6S. 
Unselfishness   precedes  advent  of 

the  Lord,  193. 
Upadhi,  limitations,  278. 
Upagurus,  many,  147. 

Vairagya,  dispassion,  352,  376. 
Va^ravantula  tree,  seeds  of,  232. 
Vanity,  death  of  man,  154. 

—  like  heap  of  rubbish,  165. 

—  of  saint,  318. 

Vedas,  defiled  by  constant  repeti- 
tion, 276. 

Vishwu  or  Siva.,  which  the  greater, 
141. 

Viveka,  discrimination,  352,  376. 

—  fire  of,  371. 

Vulture,  soars  high  but  searches 
for  carrion,  140. 

Water,  brooded  over  by  Narayawa 
12. 

—  no   effect  on  stone,  96,  126, 
136- 

—  power  of  walking  on,  258. 

—  and  bubbles  are  one,  393. 


20O 


INDEX. 


Wicked  man,  like  a  sieve,  138. 
righteous  in  society  of  pious, 

S7* 

\\  ife  and  mother,  77. 
Wind,  carries  all  scents,  65.    • 
Winnowing  basket,  113. 
Wishing-tree  (Kalpa-vrzksVa),  26. 
Woe,  brought  by  greed,  261. 
Woman,  every  woman  the  Divine 
Mother,  222,  223. 

—  love  of  God  like  a,  172. 
Woodcutter  and  Sawnyasin,  story 

of,  328. 

Words  and  thoughts,  harmony  be- 
tween, 303. 

World,  men  who  have  renounced 
the,  60. 

—  perfect  man  lives  in  but  does 
not  mix  with,  65,  95. 

—  no   power  over  perfect  man, 
69. 

—  influence  on  neophyte  and  more 
advanced  mind,  76. 

—  no  attraction   for  those   who 
have  tasted  Divine  Bliss,  83. 

—  false  glitter  like  a  trap,  lai. 

—  easier  to  enter  than  renounce, 

131. 

—  impossible  to  attain  perfection 
in,  122. 

—  like  a  stage,  123. 

—  irresistible  attraction  of,  175. 

—  cares  of,  weigh  down,  214. 

—  like  amlzi  fruit,  263. 

—  make  yourself  feared  and  re- 
spected in,  286. 

—  aspirant  may  live  in,  301. 

—  difference  between  those  who 
live  in  and  those  who  renounce, 


World,  those  living  in  should  be 
on  their  guard,  383. 

—  contamination  of,  385. 
Worldliness  in  neophyte,  384. 
Worldly  bond,  few  i:eed  from,  207. 
Worldly   knowledge,    to    be  for- 
gotten, 241. 

Worldly  man-,   motive    for  good 

deeds,  115,  125. 

like  spring  cushion,  116. 

religious  feeling  evanescent 

in,  116,  117,  119,  296. 
heart  of,  never  roused  to 

enthusiasm,  124. 
uninfluenced  by  good  advice, 

126,  127, 128,  130, 131. 

characteristics  of,  129. 

full  of  worldly  thoughts,  132. 

unchanged  by  Divine  Grace, 

192. 
perfect  God  shines  in  partial 

light  on  mind  of,  267. 
lose  purity  by  mixing  with, 

305- 

—  —  heart  filled   with  worldly 
thoughts  and  desires,  368. 

antipathy  to  all  that  savours 

of  religion,  348. 
cannot  comprehend  ecstasy 

of  Divine  Communion,  3^9. 
Worship  of  G  od ,  preaching  enough , 

210. 

Yaksha,  riches  of,  261. 
Yoga,  difficult  to  practise,  118. 
Yogin,  has  no  home,  like  a  snake, 
106. 

—  like  a  bee,  119. 

Zemindar,  agent  of,  370. 


OXFORD:  HORACE  HART,  PRINTER  TO  THE  UNIVERSITY 


A    000178255     6 


